The Soul
by Twi-Hoster Girl
Summary: Wanda's been having memory problems. Stomach problems. Hearts broken. Lives torn. Voices in heads. Star-crossed lovers. Everyone's life is as depressing as that of a soul. It can’t get any worse, can it? The answer is yes. It can get much worse. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was originally called "It's Never Going To End, Is It?" But my story line grew better and better (remember, my story line is way ahead than what's going on right now!) until I seriously had to change the name. Hope this doesn't cause any problems. If you're new though, welcome to the journey! It's a long journey, I might add. You've been warned.**

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I felt so strange as I shook this soul's hand. This soul who had been aiding humans. A native soul, as he called himself. It looks as though there _are_ souls who could live in peace with the humans. Maybe there are more souls who had gone native. Maybe all of us--souls and humans--could live together without fear or hatred.

At the sound of his cough, I instantly pulled away from the native soul--the one called Burns Living Flowers. I turned toward him quickly and caught sight of his face. I was making Ian anxious. But why would he be anxious right now? Burns Living Flowers is of no danger to me. He glances over my right shoulder and turns his anxious eyes back to me. I face towards what he was looking at.

Oh. Although she was a tiny threat, the woman grasping the spear stared at me with a vicious glare. I looked down at her hand. She was grasping her spear so tight her knuckles were going white. I slowly turned back, with my eyes still on her.

When his familiar hands touched my shoulders, I instantly felt at ease. I turned to look at him; he was so filled with worry, it almost looked funny. He pulled me behind him, where I couldn't look at his face.

I was bored, so I looked at the others while Jared talked to the human called Nate. They didn't look as alarmed as Ian was. Even Melanie, who loved me so, didn't seem so upset. What could have upset Ian?

We began walking back to the hide-out. I was briefly listening to Jared and Nate talk. It seems as though they'll be staying with us for a while. No problem there. I looked at the red-haired woman who had glared at me before. She was walking next to Burns Living Flowers. I noticed their hair matched.

And then she caught me staring. She gives me such a horrifying glare I cringe into Ian. He immediately sees what frightens me and growls at the red-haired woman. She turns away quickly.

Okay, so maybe there would be a problem. But it's nothing I can't handle. After all, they would only be staying with us for a couple of weeks. My life had already taken the hardest blow possible-the thought of leaving all my loved ones behind, especially Ian. After all that, my life couldn't get any worse.

It just couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Please bear with me! These next few chapters aren't the most exciting or devistating parts in my story. But I know that if I write chapter 5, I will have to keep going for quite a while. I wouldn't want to do that unless I knew there were people actually reading my story. Read & Review; It'll help me so much. Arigato. ~_Twi-Hoster Girl.  
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I stood in the game hall, feeling a little out of place.

Everyone had been exuberant to know just how much human survivors there were, and even more exuberant at the thought of how much _more_ survivors there could be.

Of course, _human_ survivors.

Everyone was just _so _happy! And I know, I should be happy too. I mean, they were literally shining. I knew that what I was feeling wasn't right, so I just stayed quiet. Their conversations caught up with me, though.

"_93 human survivors!" _Brandt shouted with a loud whoop.

"And that's just around here! Think of all the other places!" Aaron quickly informed with a wide smile on his face.

I wanted to leave. I desperately wanted to leave. But Ian had to go unload the van since we were all prepared for a raid. We would have to go another day. He's always so protective of me; he forced me to stay in this direct spot. I couldn't just break a promise. Well, not to Ian.

I waited and was soon awarded. He was so familiar to me; I always knew when he was here and when he was not. I quickly turned to the sight of _him--_his blue icey eyes, his hair as black as ink, and his skin always as pale as snow. I couldn't help but smile. But my thoughts were still muddled with all the extreme happiness going around.

It was as if I had just posted my thoughts on my forehead. Ian's eyes narrowed when they saw the touch of sadness in my eyes. He might've even guessed I was jealous.

I quickly turned away. I tried to dispel the men speaking, but they were as loud as can be; I just couldn't _not_ listen to what they were saying. Brandt, Aaron, and Andy were in the middle of some enthusiastic plan.

"And if we can just round all the humans here-" Brandt said.

"Then work together so when we reach _them _up there we'll-" Aaron started.

"We'll give 'em hell!" Andy finished.

"Andy!" Paige scolded.

They cheered loudly, but it was only them cheering.

_They were trying to murder my poor souls. My poor souls who could do nothing to defend themselves. They couldn't even scream for them to stop._

"HEY!" Ian barked so loudly I flinched. Everyone instantly looked at him. But when they looked at me they froze. I didn't want to look at them, so I looked at Ian.

He looked so gravely apologetic. _But for what?_ He wiped something from my cheek and showed it to me--clearly answering my thoughts.

Oh. Those traitor tears were so vivid on my face.

I quickly wiped them off and all of a sudden everyone was surrounding me--patting my back, my hair, and crying out that they were sorry. But they didn't do anything wrong! Even Brandt, Aaron, and Andy were apologizing.

"I'm so sorry, Wanda! You know, we didn't mean that! You know that, right!" Aaron quickly said.

"Yeah, we never meant to _kill _or anything, alright? We're really, really sorry! We were just talking about future plans and all-" Brandt mumbled awkwardly.

_So they did mean to hurt my fellow souls?_

"No one's going to be doing any killing," Ian said sternly.

I just noticed I was lucky that not so much people were in the room. If Mel had heard that, she would've kicked their faces. And if Jeb had heard that, he would've cocked the gun. And Jared…Jared…? I didn't want to linger on him. I wanted to think about something else.

Ian's hand suddenly moved from my waist to my right hand. His eyes had a touch of sadness in them.

"Let's go to the kitchen. I'll bet you're hungry." was all he said.

He didn't even wait for a reply before he pulled me along. Ian knew I was thinking about Jared. I didn't like making him sad. It ate away at me every time I saw that sadness in his eyes. If it meant never seeing Jared again, I would gladly take that than to be forced to witness _this. _

_Why couldn't I just get over him!?_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: As much as I wish I were, I am not Stephenie Meyer and none of these characters belong to me.  
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We found a surprise in the kitchen. Jared, Mel, Jeb, and a few of the new human survivors were standing around, talking to one another. They didn't really notice us. Mel smiled at me and said with a wave "Hi, Wanda."

I waved back at her and walked to the oven, trying to go unnoticeable. If Ian hardly left my side when we were with our family of humans, he was almost annoying when we walked around these alien humans. They didn't hate me, but what could I know? They could be plotting to kill me right now.

It wasn't lunchtime, so the only thing I found was warm, soft bread. I popped one out for me.

"Are you hungry?" I whispered quietly to Ian.

He just shook his head, then his eyes returned to clearing the room.

I sighed._ Ian was probably going to hate me for this._

I took the large flat pan closer to where everyone was seated. I cleared my throat.

"Um…I was just wondering…if anyone would like some bread." I said as loud as my squeaky voice could get.

Everyone went silent.

Jeb, kind Jeb, was the first to step up. " 'A course I would, Wanda! But you don't need to stand there like a maid, just set the bread on the table."

I was forever grateful. The alien humans were too shy to approach me or even thank me. They just wandered over to the table and took a small piece of bread. But of course, they thanked all the others for the food. Not me.

_Well, there's no use staying here._ I was about to leave, but then I noticed there was someone who was not human in this kitchen. Burns Living Flowers was staring right at me with his bread in hand. He walked up to me. Unlike the others, he wasn't shy or nervous or possibly wanting to kill me.

"Hey, Wanda. Thanks for the bread," he said, raising his bread like a token.

"You're welcome," I said shortly. It felt like I was always surrounded by humans so it took me a while to remember he was actually a soul. "Hey Burns, just out of curiosity, but how many planets have you been on?"

"How many planets?" he mused. "Just three: Singing world, Fire world, and here. How much have you been to?"

I smiled in pride. "Eight."

He looked as if I'd just grown a tentacle on my forehead. I'd always loved their expressions when they found out. "Eight!? Why so many?"

I shrugged. "I guess I never really belonged in those worlds. They were nice but…" I looked around. Ian was sitting with Jeb, keeping his eyes on me. I smiled faintly and finished my words, "…this is where I want to be. This is my home."

It was as if Ian had hear me from across the kitchen. Then again, he probably did. The kitchen wasn't so large. He smiled but kept his distance. I could feel Burns staring at me, but I stared only at Ian.

It was then that I noticed someone else staring at me. Glaring was actually the right word. That red-haired woman was staring at me with such a horrid expression.

_Why did she hate me so? What had_ I_ done wrong?_

I walked out of that room with the fact that I needed to get used to all these strange people. If they were staying as long as they said they would, then they'd be invited to my "birthday party."

My first birthday party.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: As much as I wish I were, I am not Stephenie Meyer and none of these characters belong to me.  
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It had been nearly two weeks since the other human rebels had stayed here. They said they'd be leaving soon, but Jeb had said, "Aw, but you at least gotta stay for Wanda's birthday party! She's gonna be a grown woman of 18 and she'd just love it if you were there for her! Right, Wanda?" He then nudged me with his elbow, forcing me to speak.

"Um, if it's not a bother, I really would like it if you stayed," I said quickly. I was always nervous around the human rebels. Even after two weeks.

"Your birthday party? Yeah, I guess we could stay for a bit longer," Nate said. Although I could tell the red-haired lady didn't agree, she didn't say anything.

I smiled then walked off. Although I was not on good terms with that red-haired lady, I was quite friendly with Burns. He had told me that her name was Lissie. It was a nickname for Elizabeth. The same problem with Lacey was brought to mind. Such a sweet name and yet the person named was not sweet.

Ian, Mel, Jared, and Jamie were on a raid for "food" but I already knew what they were going to get. My birthday was tomorrow and they were planning a party. No fanfare, of course. But without Ian nor Jamie here, this was going to be a boring day.

I opened my eyes to that beautiful face that never ceased to make me smile. I was staring into his deep blue eyes--so close to my face. He closed the space between us and kissed me oh, so softly.

His smile was as sweet as his voice when he said, "Happy birthday."

I smiled in return and replied with a "thank you."

"And now it's time to announce it to the rest of the world!" he said with excitement.

That didn't make me so happy. But with Ian, the smile just wouldn't stay off my face. He pulled me to my feet just as the door quickly flung open (They did knock first. You wouldn't think them rude, now?). I was already recieving my birthday guests.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA!" Jamie shouted so loudly I might've lost all sound in my ears before I got to everyone else's birthday comments.

"Oh. Thank you, Jamie-"

"Do you want us to sing to you!?" Jamie said while jumping up and down now. He was extremely enthusiastic about this. Melanie smiled at him with such tender only a big sister could have. Jared had a small envelope in his hand and he wore a brilliant smile today. I knew he was only smiling because it was my birthday. _Don't dwell on it, Wanda_, I told myself. _Get back to the question_.

"Sing?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, this is your first birthday, huh, Wanda? Well, we're going to do this right! Ian, get over here!" Jamie said.

_What was going on?_

"On 3?" Jamie said to everyone.

_What was happening on 3!?_

"1...2...3!"

The four of them sucked in a breath and sang. I was stiff with shock.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Wanda, happy birthday to you!" they all sang with a smile on their face. Jamie sang the loudest of them all. I had to laugh at that.

"So how was it, Wanda?! Did you like it, Wanda, did you?!" Jamie shouted with a smile still wide on his face.

"We're terrible singers aren't we?" Ian said as he walked back to his place by my side.

"You're not horrible singers! That was weird, but I liked it!" I said with a laugh.

"Well, you better have liked it! We set up a lot of things for you Wanda, but I'd have to say singing was the worst part! I'm a horrible singer, so I sang to you here, little birthday girl," Melanie said as she patted my hair (currently messed up, but I didn't care).

"What did I tell you, Mel? The only reason it's weird is because no one's ever sang to me. I've also never lived a year and then have it celebrated to me. You may do it on a yearly basis, but I've never done this before. Honestly, this feels so very weird." I quickly looked up, hoping I hadn't hurt anyone's feelings. They chuckled when they saw my guilty expression. Obviously, I hadn't hurt anyone.

"Well there's plenty more weirdness where that came from!" Ian said as he lead me to the game room.

When we stepped in, I had to make a double look.  
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**A/N: If I write chapter 5, then I know I'll simply have to finish the rest. I wouldn't want all that hard work to go to waste, so if you consider reading, I'll consider writing.**

**~Twi-Hoster Girl.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As much as I wish I were, I am not Stephenie Meyer and none of these characters belong to me.  
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I had to make a double look because I swear the game room never had confetti flying everywhere and pink balloons attached to everything.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA!" nearly everyone shouted.

_I just had to have worn red today, didn't I? _My face flushed as deep as my shirt. Everyone was there, smiles and all. Not a single frown. Even Red-head Lissie was calm today.

Lily skipped to me. She laughed at my expression--whatever it was.

"Wanda! Are you just going to stand there? Come on!" she said pulling me by the hand.

There was music playing and people were dancing. They were laughing when they had trouble with that. With everything that had happened, they had already forgotten how to dance, but they still tried.

Everyone was happy. It was heaven. Absolute heaven.

When Trudy announced it was time to cut the cake, I was seriously at a loss. I heard a chuckle and turned around to see Burns looking at me.

"You're not used to this, are you?" he said with humor in his voice.

"Is it that noticeable? This is my first birthday. By the way, what do they mean? Why are they going to _cut_ a cake?"

"Walk up and you'll find out," he said pointing to the table everyone was gathering around.

I was absolutely astonished. The cake was beautiful white with pink roses. _"Happy birthday, Wanda!" _was written elegantly across the cake. This must've taken so much time to make. My eyes got watery.

"Okay, Wanda! Time to cut the cake!" Trudy said, handing me the knife.

I instantly repelled against it. I heard his familiar laugh and turned to see him. Ian would know all about this.

"It's just a cake, Wanda," he said as he smoothly cut the cake.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I heard a song I liked and asked Ian if we could try dancing. Unfortunately, he was as bad a dancer as I was and I had never danced in my life. We kept stepping on each others feet. I winced everytime, so Ian thought it was best we shouldn't dance again.

All in all, it was fun.

The day was reaching its end when I saw Burns again.

"Having fun?" he asked.

"I guess."

"So you can't cut a cake?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I can't cut anything! I can't even hold a knife!" I said with a laugh.

He looked amused. "Really? Then how do you cook so well?" We had been spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

"Trudy or Lily are always doing the cutting part. I mostly do the bread. I'm too weak to do anything else." I said with a smile small.

"That's not your fault." He looked away quickly and his eyes bulged like he just noticed something. Then he reverted back to normal. I was too shy to ask what was wrong, but he answered without me asking. "I guess today's the last day I'll see you," he said quietly.

My eyes widened a bit. _Was he seriously leaving today? But he was such a good friend to me… _I looked away. "I guess so. But you'll come back, right?" I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Of course I will, Wanda. If you want me to," he said while quickly looking at someone behind me. I didn't bother looking.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I want you to come visit me?" I said, turning to look at him. He looked kind of nervous.

"Well, you'd be surprised by…how much people don't like me here," he finished off quickly. But there was something about his tone…

He sounded exactly like I did, when I lied.

I let it go. It was obvious he didn't want to tell me; I shouldn't pry.

I gave him my best smile. "Well, I guess I should say goodbye. It was really great getting to know you, Burns. You've been such a good friend to me."

And he was. He was a fellow soul who could really understand what I was going through. He didn't prejudice or make bad comments. I suddenly ached to hug him, at least once.

It was as if he had heard me. Do I just say whatever I think out loud without realizing it? If not, then how did everyone seem to always know exactly what I wanted? Burns walked up to me and gently wrapped his arms around me.

It was all I could do to _not _wrap my arms around him. But I was just so weak.

"Goodbye…Wanda," I heard him whisper. I gasped as I felt his lips press onto my hair.

Suddenly, his warmth was thrust away from me. I had no idea where it came from, but I felt an aching pain as someone's volatile fist made contact with my face. I couldn't see. I couldn't see.

"Wanda! Are you alright!" I heard Ian come running at me. I couldn't see anything. My hands were in the way. What he saw must've terrified him because he was screaming profanities now. "YOU BITCH!" he screamed at God knows who, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ABOUT, HUH?! YOU COULD PUNCH _HIM_ ALL YOU WANT, BUT HOW DARE YOU HURT WANDA! HUH!?"

He must've been doing something that was hurting the other person because I heard her cry of pain, along with her muffled gasping.

Lissie. It was Lissie.

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**A/N: I've been on a twilight craze recently. I was so freaked out about twilight, that I thought I might lose my Host story. So I started writing more. I thought this up a little different. In my original idea, it had been Ian, not Lissie, who had punched Burns and Wanda was never hurt. But I knew Ian would never do something so low; he'd be heartbroken but he wouldn't do that. Then I was thinking about Lissie and my story kind of strayed from its original point. Oh well, it just happened. Please send me reviews! Reviews keep me going!**

**Twi-Hoster Girl**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I've been a little busy Spring Break. No, I was not in Florida hitting beach balls for no reason. I was at home taking care of my little neice. Haven't uploaded in a while. H****ope you enjoy this new chappie!**

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It took me quite a while to notice I wasn't going blind. After all, I couldn't see anything. But it was my hands that were covering my eyes.

I saw what he was doing. Ian was choking Lissie.

I must've not been thinking straight. I tried running up to Ian. I couldn't make my feet move.

"STOP! IAN, LET GO OF HER!" I screamed.

Suddenly he was airborne. He landed on the floor next to me with a thud.

Burns was standing in the same place Ian had been only a second ago, leaning protectively over Lissie. Lissie was making frightening gagging sounds.

I quickly scampered to where Ian was lying. I turned him over and saw the red bruise on the right side of his cheek. I gently stroked it.

Before I knew it, tears were streaking down my face and the words were out before I could stop them. "How could you?" my voice sounded dead with accusations, not anger. I turned to face him--to face the both of them. "How could you, Burns? I'm not really mad at you Lissie; I already know what bothered you. But Burns…you hurt Ian." My voice was shaking.

He didn't even look at me. Lissie stared at me--her eyes wide with surprise. Burns only stared at her. "That is unforgivable! Burns…just get out of here. I want you to leave." My voice was firm with no doubts.

He looked at me for the first time. He didn't look sad; he looked almost relieved. "I, too, think it's best we leave." he said quietly. It was at that point that I noticed all the other human rebels that had visited were gathered behind Lissie and Burns.

I'm pretty sure there was a lot of people staring. I turned down to look at Ian. He was knocked unconscious. That bruise looked so frightening on his face. I wish I could stroke my hand across it and some magic would come out--making the bruise and the pain disappear. I tried it--with no luck.

I heard their silent footsteps. I didn't even bother looking. I knew they were out of the room when I heard Melanie's soft voice say "Wanda, are you alright?" She then got a good look at me and gasped.

I wonder what my face looked like. It doesn't matter.

"I'm completely alright. But Ian…" my eyes lingered down.

"It'll be alright, Wanda," said a different voice. It was Doc. Kind, friendly, and gentle Doc. "This is not a major bruise. He'll recover in a few days. He just needs some time to wear it out, okay?" He looked at me tentatively--waiting for a response. I slowly nodded.

"Wow. 'Never knew Lissie had such a hard punch," Jeb said, earning him a good deal of glares. He quickly waved his hands in front of him, as if in apology. "I'm just saying. Hey Jared, help me take this big guy back to his room." I heard their feet making their way next to me.

Tears simply continued streaming down my face. I knew they wanted me to move now, but I would not leave Ian's side. No matter how small the injury.

Besides, another thought frightened me. _What if they were mad at me? Because I drove the other humans away. They were probably super mad and they just didn't know how to let me down easy. My own family…_

The tears were turned on full. They reminded me of a sink turned on. I knew I had to stop crying, or else I would start sobbing--that would seriously be embarrassing. But they just wouldn't stop.

"Wanda." Even Jared's voice couldn't make the tears stop. "Please get out of the way. We need to get Ian off the floor and back to his bed." He put a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off.

"Wanda." I turned to look at her. _Was Melanie against me, too?_ "We're just going to get him back to his room. There's absolutely no need to panic. Although they are humans…we're not going to let them stay here if they hurt someone from our family." My eyes widened. _Did that include me, too?_ "Yes. Of course it includes you, Wanda. No one hurts our family."

I smiled hugely at her. "Thank you, Mel." I sniffed and got up. "I want bread." I gasped. _Why had I just said that!? Stupid, Stupid!_

Mel sighed hugely. She looked at me with a tiny smile. "Wanda, _when_ are you ever going to get over the fact that you're part of this family? If you want something, there's no reason to hide it anymore. No more hiding things, okay?" she said as she softly patted my head.

I nodded with a blush.

"Now that that's settled, let's go eat some bread," Melanie said while walking off.

"Let's," I said and quickly chased after her--after my big sister.

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**A/N: Mel and Wanda time. That was just so sweet, I had to write it. Problem was: I had no idea where to fit this! I just pushed the Wanda/Ian big day to a later time…um, you'll see later…Anyway, back to Wanda and Ian next chapter! Please send me your reviews! They always make my day!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Lucky Stephenie Meyer owns The Host, I just own a copy of the Host.**

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I woke up somewhere near midnight, I think. It had been only a few hours since the party.

My face was mashed up against my arm and I had been sleeping in a chair. Not a good way to sleep. Especially not a good way to sleep when your beloved was recovering from a lethal hit. I still couldn't believe Burns did that.

Ian was in deep sleep by now. I stood up and stretched as far as I could go. I took one look in a mirror and groaned. Not only was my face feeling mushy, it was stained by salt water. Although I had no idea why, my blond hair was in a poof ball.

I just remembered early today--well, yesterday actually--I had gotten the wind knocked out of me by Lissie. Oh yeah, that was why my hair was a poof ball.

A low moan had pulled me out of my thoughts and dragged me to Ian's bedside. He groaned again and then rolled over. Doc had said he'd be better in no time--but I didn't believe it. Until Ian himself told me he was feeling better, I would not be convinced.

But my worries were nonsense when I woke up, yet again for the seventh time that day, to find Ian eating like crazy. I propped myself on my elbow to take a good look at his cheek. Still red, but it didn't look so painful today.

He noticed me awake. He took one look at me and smiled that same big smile I loved. I couldn't help but smile back.

"You know, I'd offer you some food, but I already ate it all," he said looking a bit ashamed of himself as he scratched his head.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm not hungry! Not hungry at all!" I said, waving my hands around frantically. But my stomach begged to differ. It's loud growl filled the room.

My cheeks flushed red as he laughed. "Always the shy one, let's go eat." I eyed him warily. _After eating all that, he could still fit more? Or was he simply eating for my sake? _He read my mind and smiled timidly, "Well, I guess you'll eat and I'll just watch."

I watched him as he lifted himself off the floor and I followed him out the door.

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"So, the other rebels left?" Ian asked with his elbow leaning on the counter, holding his head up. He was faced towards me and watched me eat my soup.

"Yep, I kinda…_ordered_…them to leave. I just…didn't want them here if they were capable of _that…_" I trailed off when something hit me. Everyone in my family was capable of that. But they chose not to.

"Wow," he said with honest admiration. "Nothing bad happened after that?" he asked.

"Nope." I said with a shake of my head.

His eyes narrowed. I had no idea why; I wasn't lying. They narrowed in a way like he wanted to tell me something, but he just didn't know how. Or maybe it wasn't the right moment. Either way, he's hiding something from me.

And I swear I saw a touch of sadness in those eyes.

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The rest of the day passed by quickly. Ian and I were heading off to bed and he still hadn't told me what it was he was hiding. I grew anxious by the minute.

He opened the door for me like a gentleman and as I walked to get ready for bed, I noticed he wasn't following me.

I turned around. Ian was still standing at the door and his face was full of sadness. It was like the sadness I saw earlier today, but it was much more defined.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he took a deep breath before talking. "Wanda…, you don't know how sorry I am."

This surprised me. _What does Ian have to be sorry for? He saved me yesterday!_

He walked and passed me by. I turned around just as he sat on the bed. I kneeled in front of him--trying to crouch to see his eyes, but he wouldn't show them to me.

I had to ask; "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because…because you got hurt," he said silently.

_Oh. He was blaming himself._

"But Ian-"

"If only I had been paying more attention, if only I had been watching you more closely…, none of this would've happened! Your beautiful face wouldn't have been scarred and you wouldn't have spent nearly the whole night worrying over me!" he said, finally looking me in the eyes.

I hadn't told him about my sleeping problems. He read my mind again and gave me a tiny smile, "Melanie told me you kept waking up at night. And besides," he reached out and stroked my cheek, "I already knew you were worried; you're such a softy, Wanda."

My face lightly blushed. His smile faded and he pulled away from me. He turned his whole face away from me. "Ian, I did take a look at myself this morning. It's not so bad. Not as bad as your bruise," I said quietly.

He groaned and looked at me again, "But it doesn't change the fact that you're still hurt! It doesn't change the fact that I could've prevented this if I had only been--"

His words were cut short as I pinched his lips together. It was quite a trouble for my tiny hands, but it was manageable.

I slowly let go. "None of that. I don't want to hear it, okay? No talking to me if it's going to be about that."

He frowned slightly. "But Wanda-"

I silenced him yet again but this time with my lips. He was quite surprised, for this was not my usual behavior.

"I told you I'm fine," I whispered. After another kiss I told him, "No more talking."

He nodded and started kissing me more fiercely. Desire ran through my body and I could feel him pulling me on the bed.

He was kissing me and I was kissing him. There was nothing in between us; nothing to stop us. It seemed almost illegal for one single person to have all the happiness in the world. Surely, I'd have it taken away.

Surely, this wouldn't last long.

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**A/N: Wow! It took me quite a while to get that one right. No, it didn't take a month. I was babysitting and studying so no computer time. I was planning on having Ian ignore her for a while because he felt guilty of her little fight with Lissie, but then I thought to myself "Ian would never do that. Wanda would've gotten the answer out of him sooner or later." **

**Oh, and also the chapters. I think the Little & Little/Big & Big chapters is spoiling too much so I'm taking them out. And if you don't know what I'm talking about...that's good. It's better if you don't know! For those who do know..., now you'll just have to guess what'll happen!**

**Anyway, please send me your reviews! Each one is read and loved!!**

**~Twi-Hoster Girl**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't own the Host, but I _do _own a _copy _of the host! Is that good enough???**

* * *

Ah, the golden days. I think that's what they're called. The days and weeks and months that have passed can only be expressed with a term as priceless as gold.

Our lives continued uninterrupted and not unhappy. We were always happy these days. And today was no exception. The only downside was a little stomachache. Of course I didn't tell anyone that. No need to worry over nothing.

I hoped it would go away soon, but the hours stretched and stretched until it became _unbearable. _Ian noticed when he saw me with my face pressed on the counter. I lifted my head to greet him, but he was frowning.

He took long strides and quickly closed the gap between us. When he put a hand on my forehead, I knew I was busted. When he said "You're sick," only added further proof.

I looked away and nodded slightly. He frowned and took my hand, leading me out. It took me quite a while to realize what was going on. "Wait, Ian…it'll go away; there's no need to be anxious. I can still do my morning chores and maybe it'll help--"

"Wanda, please don't argue with me. Whenever you're sick, you can't make straight decisions. Now just listen to me this time. You're going to take some medicine and you're going to rest," he said firmly.

Ian was always like this whenever anything bad--from an attack by humans to an attack by the common cold--happened to me. I knew arguing would do no good so I just grumbled an "okay."

He left me in our room for a while. He later came back with some medications from Doc. _This is ridiculous; it's just a stomachache and a cold! _But I didn't voice my thoughts and simply took the medicines. I was seeing stars soon after.

* * *

I woke up and yawned as loud as can be. "Finally up, sleepyhead." I turned and spotted Ian lying next to me.

"Yup. Have I been sleeping long?" I asked, my brain still disorientated from the medicine. I stood up and that only added to the whooshing in my head.

"Not that long. How do you feel?" he asked suddenly serious.

"Much better, actually," I said with a smile, "I don't feel a thing."

Ian stood up from where he had been sitting next to me. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my face--staring deeply into my eyes. Of course, I was feeling hypnotized by his stare and didn't even notice the blood rushing to my cheeks. He finally smiled and kissed me, finally confirmed of whatever he had been thinking.

"Just checking if you were still sick or not. Well, we'd better hurry before all the good stuff's gone."

I smiled as he took my hand.

* * *

Amazingly we caught the eggs _before _Kyle or anyone else devoured them all. There was hardly any, but at least there _was _some. After all the riot was done, I took the tub of dirty dishes and walked to the room with the streams. I didn't get far and before I tripped and fell to my doom, Ian had taken the tub away from me.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be on washing duty," I said.

"Well, now you will be on _watching _duty and I will be on _washing _duty. Apparently, that's the only job that fits your requirements," he said with a smile, clearing teasing me at how weak I was.

I didn't care. I smiled back and rolled my eyes.

He started washing the dishes quickly and thoroughly. But every so often he would look at me and smile. I so loved his smile. I wish I could always see him smile.

This reminded me so much of how Melanie was with her Jared. He would always smile and she couldn't help smiling back. I remembered how Jared had changed so drastically when Melanie disappeared. I wonder if that would happen to Ian, if he lost me. I wonder if that would happen to _me _if I lost _him. _

The horror that struck me was so fierce. I felt it seeping at me and for some reason, I felt it seeping from my stomach…up my throat…No this was obviously my imagin-

My thoughts were proved wrong as I violently threw up--right on the recently cleaned dishes.

* * *

I was slightly aware of Ian hollering out my name--demanding to know what was wrong. He picked me up when I had nearly fainted and left the now dirty dishes there. He carried me all the way to the hospital wing and that's all I remember.

I was still in the hospital wing. I sat up and noticed I was in the dark. _Why had that happened? _I thought to myself. _Why had I thrown up? I hadn't eaten anything bad. I barely ate anything at all! _

My hands flew to my stomach as I felt the pain. My hands tightened as the pain incresed. _Oh, why did this stomachache have to turn so frighteningly painful? _

"Are you okay?" I heard someone whisper. I turned and saw Ian looking at me with such worried eyes. He had his arms folded on the rail of my cot and his head was half-hidden, but his eyes were in full view.

My hands flew off my stomach as quickly as they had appeared. _Deal with the pain,_ I told myself. "I'm perfectly okay," I said lying through my teeth.

"Don't lie to me," he sighed as he closed his eyes, "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so bad? If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know? How am I supposed to help?" he whispered his questions with such sadness.

I gulped back the lump in my throat. "Ian…" I put my hand on his hand, but he wouldn't open his eyes. Had he fallen asleep? No, I didn't believe that. I placed my hands on the sides of his face and dragged him up to me; that forced his eyes open. I lightly kissed him on the mouth. "It's okay…I'll…I'll be okay."

But the sudden pain stroke me harder than before and I gasped out in pain. I couldn't hold back my scream. I hugged my stomach and buried my face in my lap. After a few minutes, the pain become bearable and I sat up to face Ian.

His face was as I had expected. Horrorstruck. "Wanda…" he whispered as just a few tears escaped his eyes. No…I couldn't handle this too.

"Ian…" my voice was thick with tears. The pain was _too much! _"Ian, it hurts," my voice sounded so childlike as I spoke. "It hurts so much." My hands kept gripping my stomach and my face fell into my lap again.

"Wanda."

This surprised me so. Although the pain was excruciating, I looked up to question why Ian's voice had changed.

The look in his eyes had changed also. They were so…resolved.

He continued, now that he caught my attention. "Wanda…I'll make the pain go away. I swear to you, I'll make the pain go away."

He stood up and started walking towards Doc, whom was currently sound asleep.

"What're you--" I started asking but he didn't stop to answer me.

He shook him awake; "Doc," he said. "Still got any morphine left?"

This surprised Doc. "Uh, yes. It's right there in the second cabinet. But why do you--"

But just as he did with me, Ian hadn't stopped to wait for him to finish. He raided the cabinet until he found the morphine. As he walked to me, my slow brain started working. My eyes widened in fear.

I didn't even have the energy to stop him as he took my wrist and injected the horrible meds into me. My pain had struck again and I bit my lip to avoid the screaming. I tasted blood.

I wouldn't move from my stiff sitting position. Ian noticed that and reclined me so I was lying on the cot. I looked up at him with narrowed eyes. My brain somehow managed to still be working through all the pain and drowsiness. I didn't need to open my mouth to ask the question; _Why? _my eyes clearly said.

His eyes softened. He touched my cheek and I held onto that hand. "Wanda…you must be very confused and I probably...won't be able to explain for some time but…I'll come back. I swear to you; I'll always come back to you." he said it with such certainty.

Yes, my brain was definitely confused. And what was he talking about when he said _for some time? _Or when he said he'll come _back_? _Where was he even going in the first place?! _

But those questions are for later. All I knew is that he'd always come back to me. With that happy thought in mind, I slowly edged closer to sleep. The pain was hardly even noticeable anymore.

"Oh, Wanda?" he asked.

"…Hmm?" I slowly answered. I wanted to sleep, but I wanted to hear his voice more.

"One more thing. I love you, Wanda. Always have; always will," he said, his voice getting quieter and quieter as the morphine seeped into my system.

"…Me too…" I whispered. And with that, I plunged into the dark.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, I would like to clear something up. I don't think Burns and the gang are going to show up again, so I feel I need to write this down here. Burns actually never liked Wanda. Well, not _that _way. The kiss on the head was like saying "Farwell, my little sister." And you know how he was relieved when Wanda told him to leave? It was because he knew how loveable Wanda was and he didn't _want_ to fall in love with her. And Ian was kinda bothered about Burns because he thought Wanda would fall for him or he'd fall for her. **

**But anyway, story's over. The real reason I had the other rebel gang there was because of how they were in the last chapter of the Host. I felt like they had to be in my story sorta. **

**Oh, I'd like to add that I'm re-reading the host. And because of that I've gotten so much ideas it looks like I'm gonna be uploading much quicker and sooner. The different rebel gang kinda strayed me away from my plot, but no biggie. **

**Hope you loved this chapter. Took me quite a while and this was actually two chapters separate. But the first one was kinda boring for me so I added the previously-known-as-chapter-9 to this. Hope it's okay. R & R! Please???**

**

* * *

****P.S: Are you wondering how Doc stayed asleep during Wanda's screaming? Let's just say in my story he's a heavy sleeper ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This may seem like a new arc, but it was actually my original arc! I wanted to blend this story as much as I could with the host, and with the whole other rebels thing…I just wanted to get it out of the system. And if you did like the other rebels, I'm sorry but I don't think they'll be showing again. Anyway, this is my beloved original idea. Hope you love it!**

* * *

"_Seven lives!? Wow, why so much?" he shouted with shock. _

_I sighed. I was used to this. I lifted my feathered hand to scratch the top of my head. My pretty arms were covered in a mixture of red, yellow, and white feathers to appear in wing-like structures. My hair, so pretty and long, brilliantly shined with its vibrant red color. _

_I had been walking around--to which many people thought was so awkward; why walk when you can fly? I looked up shyly, hoping that pretty blue would still be in sight. It was. That soothing light blue, that vibrant dark blue, and that relaxing lavender of his wings. He had the eyes of a hawk and peered down on me. _

Why was he giving me such a look? He must be a new soul. _I thought to myself. I was curious. "Are you a new soul?" I said, eyeing him warily. That caused him to burst out laughing. He looked down, then glanced up._

"_Not really. It's funny that you would think that right away," he joked, but his eyes tightened, "If you appear the slightest bit upset or angry, people look at you like you're gonna claw their face off."_

_I swallowed, truly terrified. _If he wasn't a newbie…then why was he upset? There was absolutely nothing that could possibly upset our kind! _"Well…that's just how it is with our kind. We have to be extra careful. One slip-up and the seekers will come."_

"_Yeah. I know," he said with a sigh. "So what's your story? Why are you on your feet?" he said with a chuckle._

"_On my feet?"_

"_Yeah. Why aren't you up there?" he said gesturing to the sky. The yellowish-orange sky full of flying pedestrians. Flashes of color came up here and there, variations of red, yellow, and orange. There were also some other colors like gray…or brown…Not that much varieties. _

_It was the pretty blue that drew me down here. That beautiful blue was so out of place I had to come down. Not that I was telling _him.

"_Too crowded," I whispered. "Why are _you _here? Not to be rude," I quickly tacked on. _

_He chuckled. "Sometimes, I just want to get away. So I chose to stretch out my legs instead of my arms and I just got in the habit."_

"_But don't you get tired!?" I asked him. More like shouted. But still, _how could he willingly go out of his way to run and walk and appear so human-like!?

"_Honestly, it's more tiring flying. And it's kinda calming in a way. When you're flying, you can't stop to look at the things down here," he said and jerked his head towards our surroundings. _

_I looked around in awe. I had never once stopped to look around--always in a hurry to get back into the air. But now I made myself look. The ground had always looked like some icky yellowish-greenish goo. But the ground was actually soft. And it was such a shiny yellow. The barks on the trees were a slightly darker yellow, while the leaves ranged in warm colors. There was a river nearby. We didn't have a necessity for it, but children often swam in there--trying to work out those arm muscles. There were these anemone-like things that were seen often. They shook as if they were alive and with their vivid red they appeared as fire. _

_I slouched down on the soft ground. _Why had I never stopped to look at this?_ I thought to myself._

"_Never seen this before, right?" he said with his eyebrows raised._

"_It's beautiful," I whispered. In all my lives, people had told me this place was horrible, so all the while I was here…I never once stopped to look. Oh, how dead wrong they were._

"_I guess…I wouldn't say that so casually, though…"he trailed off. I looked up and caught him staring at me. He quickly looked away._

"_Why would you say that?" I said, cocking my head._

"…_No reason." Then the strangest thing happened. His skin--a very faint light blue--suddenly turned…was that violet? The violet surprised me as much as the lavender of his wings had. It was centered around his cheeks. Was he suffocating or something!? But why would he be suffocating!?_

"_Um, are you okay!? You're looking all purple…" I said as I stood up with my arms in tight fists, ready to act on first notice. _

"_I'M JUST FINE!" he shouted, turning even more purple._

_My spine straightened in shock. He noticed at once and apologized. "I'm sorry…I just, kinda lose it sometimes. You know how it's like…" he trailed off._

_My eyebrows narrowed in sadness. "Yes…I do know how it's like."_

_We stood in awkward silence. "So, you never answered my question," he said out of the blue._

"_Question?" _Had he even _asked _me a question? _I thought to myself._

"_Yeah. What's your story?" he said as he sat down. _

_I sat down on my knees beside him. "My name's Silver Flames," I said, adding emphasis to the s. Better get it over with. _

"_Silver flames? Why the plural?" he asked. There was always a story to everyone's name. I hated mine. _

"_They represent the planets I've been on." _

"_And how many would that be?"_

_I hesitated. "…Seven.." I finally said._

"_Seven lives!? Wow, why so much?" _

_I sighed. I looked towards the river. That shiny silver river. I sounded spacey when I answered. "I don't know. I just…never belonged."_

"_What do you mean, you've never belonged?" he asked. I turned to look at him. He stared at me with honest curiosity. It wasn't a prying look. _

_I looked towards the river again. "I've never had anyone I could talk to freely. It seemed like when I did…" I raised my empty hands, palm up, to face the sky. "…all my lines were rehearsed. They didn't seem to come from…the heart. Do you get what I'm trying to say?" I said, turning to look at him._

_He was staring at my empty hands. He nodded with a soft smile, still not looking away from my hands. "I completely understand what you're saying…" he said._

_His face. It looked gentle and kind for a second. His eyes were a shiny silver--just like the river. I realized he felt that way too. "You too?" I asked, just to make sure._

_He nodded. _

_I looked away, thoughtful. "Hmm…now that I think about it, I don't know you're name."_

"_Oh," he said with a bright smile, "It's--"_

* * *

I was brought back by a sudden ache in my stomach again. I sat up straight and was about to dash to the washing room. But it wasn't necessary.

I was instantly handed a yellow bucket. I didn't even look up to see who it was as I grabbed the bucket and threw up--violently. After taking away the bucket, I was then hit in the head by the same person. I rubbed my head and looked up to see my big sister with a worried/angry expression. "You idiot…" she whispered.

She threw her arms around me. I was so confused and she didn't really help to that fact. "If you were sick, you should've told us. And when you're sick, you're supposed to eat healthy--you're not supposed to starve yourself because you're afraid you'll vomit it back up!" she scolded, but I could tell there were tears in her eyes.

I gently patted he back--calming her. "I'm sorry, Mel. I didn't know you'd be so hurt--"

"Of course I would be hurt! I can understand why you hid it from Ian--with him always overreacting, it's no wonder--but why would you hide it from me?! Your own sister!?" she shrieked.

Her use of the word "sister" touched me. "I'm sorry, Mel," I repeated.

"We've been keeping you alive with IV's," she said with a sniff. I turned to look at the _thing. _Again, that nauseous feeling hit and I covered my mouth with my hand. Mel noticed and immediately gave me the bucket. She turned away as I vomited--yet again.

My head was spinning in circles. What was going on? Where was Ian? Why did I have feathers and why did I see silver and soothing? _Soothing…_That word brought something up, but I couldn't tell. It reminded me of how I couldn't unlock Melanie's memories. _Soothing… _I brought my hands to my temples. I twisted them into fists. _Why couldn't I remember a dream I just had?! Soothing… Soothing what!?_

A picture flew through my head. It was a river, radiating in silver light. _Now I was seeing a river! _

I groaned. Mel heard that. She raised her eyebrows.

"How much morphine did Ian _give_ me?"

* * *

**A/N: So how was it? Kinda weird? Tell me thoughtsies! (Is that a word? Nope. Pretty sure, it's not. I still like it!) ****I'm kinda shuffling my ideas, so my story might turn out bad. Or it might turn out good. Who knows how my brain works.****Anyway, give me thoughtsies in review form! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I wish I owned the host, but I'll have to settle with owning a copy of the host.**

* * *

It was true I was hungry.

I tried to eat my food with politeness, but I often caught myself tearing into the bread or drinking water as if my life depended on it. Well, my life did depend on it, but that's not the point.

Mel and Jamie were constantly getting me more food and when they hadn't I would complain. This was so unlike me. And after all that eating, I was still vomiting.

_What the heck is wrong with me!? _

Doc was getting desperate. So was everyone else. They were always asking me if I was hungry or thirsty, if I was comfortable, if I was sleepy.

It seemed like Mel, of all people was the only one _not _worried about me. Jeb was also not worried about me, but that was because he was constantly watching Melanie's strange reactions.

She wouldn't cry when I threw up; she seemed to be focusing on something really hard actually. I tried asking her why, but she would always say the same thing: _"Of course I'm worried about you, Wanda. You're just imagining things." _But when she would reurn with that hard mask, it was really hard to believe any of her words.

We were finally alone, when Doc had turned away to eat something. I was about to start questioning her again--to demand for an answer--but Sunny and Kyle had stepped in the room. I was already sitting up on the cot with my apple juice held tight in my hands (It had taken me forever to get across the whole "straw in the box" thing)

"Hello Wanda! I hope you're feeling better. I…didn't really know if I should come with a present or not, so I just got you this," Sunny said as she handed me a cake. It was chocolate. Extremely hard to _not _tear into it.

"Oh…you didn't need to get me anything. Hi, Kyle. How's your face?" I asked.

He smirked at me. "Not as bad as you think. Ian's kick in the face still hurts you know. He's got quite the strength. He got it from me, of course."

Melanie wasn't really paying any attention to our small talk, but she suddenly jerked her head towards him and gave him such a furious look, I couldn't imagine anyone stupid enough to cross her. Not even Kyle.

As I predicted, he looked terrified for a second. Then he stood up, causing Sunny to stand up as well. "Well, Wanda…it's nice to see you're okay. We should let Wanda get some sleep; haven't got much of that, right? Let's go, Sunny," Kyle said as he dragged Sunny along by the hand.

He may have been able to lie his way out of this, but Sunny couldn't. Before they were out of sight, she gave me a sympathetic look. She looked down and quickly whispered, "I'm sorry, Wanda." Kyle jerked her out of the room, before she could say any more.

I quickly looked at Melanie and questioned her with my eyes, as I so often did; "_Why did that happen? Do you know?_"

She simply gave me a blank look. The perfect poker face. I couldn't bear all this confusion! "What's going on, Melanie? You know it; why won't you tell me!?"

Her eyes narrowed. They practically shouted the words out to me; _"It's nothing you need to know."_

I've had it. I was about to snap, but Melanie's eyes raised and she exhaled. "Finally," she muttered. I turned around to see what had caught her attention. Jared had came in with a small paper bag.

He didn't look so happy. When he reached us, the first thing he did was pat my head. Then he tossed the bag to Mel. "Here you go, Mels,"

She gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks."

He was about to leave, but then he stopped to look at me. "Wanda…"

"What is it?"

His eyes looked saddened. He looked down at my stomach. _Oh. He was upset about me keeping my sickness a secret. Or about the starving myself. Or both. _

"Its…nothing." He waved goodbye and then quickly fled the room.

"What was that f--wait…, it's better if I don't even ask, since I'm not going to get an answer. Right, _Mels?_" I was still upset with her.

Her eyes suddenly looked terrifyingly agonized, like a child. The mask had been torn to shreds. "Don't be mad at me, Wanda. I was trying…to keep the pain away from you. But it looks like you're going to find out sooner or later."

She handed me the paper bag. I didn't look away from her face, not even to look inside the bag. "Will you answer me this time?" I asked, not needing to repeat the question I had already asked so many times.

She blew out a sigh. "Yes. Wanda…I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong with you. Well, I wouldn't use the word _wrong,_" she said with a small smile. But even as she smiled, her eyes were agonized.

My horror grew worse and worse. "Tell me, Mel. What…is…happening!?" My eyes were getting so blurry now.

"Wanda, I know this is rude, since you asked me all these questions and I refused to answer…, but can I ask you something? It will clear things up, I promise," she said as she put a hand to her chest. Further emphasis to the _promise._

"Yes," I whispered.

Her question was quite frank. Well, maybe not _"quite frank," _more like, "very_ frank."_

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. I did manage to get a word out, though.

"Huh?"

* * *

Although it was only minutes, it felt like hours to me. I sat in a daze after her question. I could only come up with a question, so stupid as it was honest…

"Was I supposed to count?"

It was Melanie's eye's turn to pop. "What-Huh-Of-What?" she stuttered. I couldn't make it out.

She finally got her grip and shouted," OF COURSE YOU WERE!!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry! Um, uh…" I put a finger to my lips and looked up in a such a girly kind of daze. I didn't normally act like this; I was just frustrating Melanie for frustrating me so much. "You know what, I can't _remember!_"

"Quit the sissy act, Wanda! This is serious!" Mel shouted. But I could tell her cheeks were red. Ha.

"Okay, okay…" I put on my serious face and thought back…I thought and thought…

"Can you think any faster, Wanda!?" Mel suddenly shouted.

I slowly opened my eyes. "I've…been wondering why it so suddenly stopped. It's been…3 months?"

Mel gawked at me. "And why haven't you told me this before?"

I looked away, "Too embarrassed."

She sighed deeply and put her face in her hand. "You know what this means, right?"

"Um…will you get mad if I say, 'What?'" I asked nervously.

Her glare clearly answered the question. She tore into the paper bag and handed me a little white stick. "Here. Pee on this."

Was Melanie just getting franker by the second? "Um…"

"PEE!" she shouted.

"O-Okay," I said, stuttering.

"In the bucket. I'll turn away," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her and turned her back to me.

I quickly accomplished the task and handed her the stick.

She looked at it through narrow eyes. She sighed. _"What're we gonna do now?" _I heard her whisper.

"What? What does it say?" I asked trying to look at it, but my short complexion made it impossible.

"It says positive…" Mel quietly whispered. She was smiling, but her eyes weren't. "You're pregnant."

My eyes widened. I immediately looked down at my stomach. My slightly bulging stomach. Inside of it was a little baby. A little baby that looked like Ian and me.

I put my hands around it and cradled it. My eyesight was getting blurry and I gave a small laugh as the tears fell. _A baby!? Did I seriously deserve a baby!?_

I looked up with the stupid smile still plastered on my face. "Are you telling me the truth!? I'm seriously going to be a mother!?"

She gave a short nod. I squealed in joy. I ran to her and threw my arms around her. "I can't believe this, Mel! Can you!? I'm gonna be a _mother!_ You're gonna be an _aunt! _And I'm gonna have a baby that looks just like Ian!! I'm the happiest person in the world!!!" I shouted.

It took me quite a while to realize Melanie was not sharing in my happiness. "Mel?" I whispered.

She refused to look at me.

"What is it?" I snuck a peek at her face. Her lips were trembling--sealed in a tight line. Her eyes were tightened in agony; it was as if she was keeping something locked in her eyes--something like tears.

"Mel? Won't you tell me?" I asked her, my own happiness forgotten.

She shook her head rapidly.

"Well, if you won't tell me, I'll go ask Ian."

That struck a nerve. I heard her whimper.

"Mely?" I whispered. I was truly terrified now. "Does it have to do with Ian?" I hadn't seen him in such a long time. The last time…he injected me with morphine and…he had told me…

I gasped in realization. I let go of Melanie's arms and fell to my knees. My knees were not strong enough to hold me. Now my hands fell to the floor, trying to support my weight. I felt something bubbling up inside me. Was it a scream? No…it had a faint…drowsiness to it. I had to ask one last question before I was lost.

"Mel?" I whispered.

"...Hmm?"

"Where is he?"

I could barely make out her quiet voice. "I don't know."

I smiled softly before my weight collapsed. "Of course…"

* * *

**A/N: (sighs deeply) How sad. Stupid, noble Ian. He's making our lovely Wanda cry. And where could he be? Please give me your thoughts and I'll give you more updates. (sad mood~_~)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Think about it, if I were seriously Stephenie Meyer and if I seriously owned The Host, would I be on right now? **I…was aware. I'll give you that.

* * *

I _did_ hear them asking. I _did_ hear their pleading. I _didn't _choose to answer.

Was that wrong?

My heart had been broken before, so I knew what to expect. What I didn't expect was just _how _horrifyingly powerful it was. Not only did my heart hurt. _Every limb hurt._

It hurt to think. My Ian…My Ian was out there…trying to _save _me. _Who knew how far he would go!? Who knew if he would be safe!?_

_Who knew if he would come back…?_

The tears started spilling, once again. People started begging for me to say what hurt, but Mel and Jeb chased them off.

I was lying on the cot. I was on my side. Slowly, I placed my hand on the empty space beside me.

_Yes. He would come back. Just as he promised. All I can do…is wait._

And as I waited…I dreamed.

* * *

_My days were brighter. _

_I meant that, both mentally and physically. My life had a light; as tiny a light could be, it was still a light, right? _

_I spent all my time on my feet, never even bothering to fly (but I did keep my wings open). Ever since I learned how beautiful the ground was, I wandered and pondered. _

_I was frustrated with how people thought this was such a horrible place. Maybe they should open their own eyes before they judge. _

_The little place I found today was more red than it was yellow. The ground was still soft, but it was orange. Here was where the volcanoes bubbled. They occasionally erupted, but it's not like the molten lava could actually _hurt _us. We had to be incapacitated for that. _

_There was also lots of anemone here. More than usual. I randomly found myself leafing my fingers through the anemone. It didn't sting--it merely tickled. With the anemone's constantly moving, how would it feel like to lay on one? I was much too small to lie on one, though._

_I sighed. When my eyes opened, I was shocked to find my problems solved. I was now facing rows and rows of anemone. It was the size of a football field! I didn't really need all the extra space because I was just a tad bit bigger than an average human. We all were._

_I lay myself down slowly on the anemone. As soon as I was horizontal, I laughed. The anemone tickled me and I was highly ticklish! I laughed and laughed and managed to escape. However, in my escape I had rolled and fell to the ground. _

_Even on the floor I was laughing. It was such a strange feeling to laugh, for I had never laughed before. Nothing had amused me enough. It was so massively funny that the anemone was enough to amuse me-- that had me laughing even harder. _

_I was interrupted by a teasing, familiar voice, "Hey, you might wanna take it easy down there!" _

_I looked up to spot a familiar person wearing blue wings. He was so high up there, in that tree. "What're you doing up there? I thought you liked to stay on the ground!" I shouted._

"_Hmm. I did say that," he said and after stroking his chin, he dropped gracefully to one knee in front of me. Wow. Even I couldn't land like that. When he stood up, his face was looking violet again. _

"_Umm, you're looking purple again. Should I be bothered?" I asked, while cocking my head. _

"_No, you shouldn't!" he yelled, facing away from me._

_I was startled again, but this time in irritation. "Humph. Fine then." _

_And with that I walked off, briskly, past him. "Ah! Wait up, wait up!" he said and quickly managed to catch up. "I'm sorry for yelling again! Really, really sorry!" _

_I was horrible at keeping grudges. Being angry was bad enough and even that didn't last long. I smiled and said "I forgive you." _

"_So…were you just walking to get away from me or did you actually have some place in mind?" he said while raising his eyebrows. _

"_Well, since I guess I'm not walking to get away from you, it must be because I have a place in mind. So…yes?" It sounded like a question._

"_Oh. Well, where to?" he asked._

"_You'll see," I replied with a tiny smile. _

_I continued walking up the hill. The orange was fading away and changing into yellow again. There was a breeze in the air that ruffled my hair a bit. I wonder what had made things seem so…changed. I peeked to my right, to make sure he was still there. He was. I quickly looked forward again. _

_I was also wondering why I was asking such dim-witted questions. I already knew what the answer was. It was standing right next to me. It was also called Rivers Soothing._

* * *

Fear had shocked me awake. The dream had cut off, but I had managed to grasp a name.

Rivers Soothing.

For some reason, his name felt like a key.

A key that just might just tear me to shreds.

* * *

**A/N: So we finally get a name! I want to know your thoughts! Who could this Rivers Soothing possibly be!? Is he evil or good!? Why isn't Ian showing up!? And WHAT is up with all these weird dreams!? Well, you'll find out. In time. Tell me thoughts; they really help me out! **

**p.s: In case you didn't know, blue and red make violet. Reason for his purpily cheeks. **


	12. Chapter 12

_A Little Different Point of View__… _

I flipped my tie as neat as can be. But I never accomplished the task perfectly. _Ugh, I've always hated these ties. _

I was in a hurry to get to the Facility. I had always hated the Facility, too. Hated a lot of stuff, for that matter. But in the hating the Facility thing--I was not alone.

And so, my tie and I (don't get me wrong, I was wearing other stuff than a tie, like maybe a suit. I just don't want to elaborate) stepped out of my car--my lovely, navy blue Acura. My hair was almost the same shade as my Acura. It was lightly brushed by the sudden breeze. My face was as cold as stone.

Many people actually _respected_ the Facility. It was where all the top-rate Seekers played. _Only _the top-rate Seekers were allowed to enter. _So much for an equal society._

I swapped my all-access card across the tiny pad on the door. A robot hand appeared out of a metal flap above the tiny pad. The hand faced me, palm towards my eyes. A light shined. I didn't flinch.

Maximum security-measures. No idea why they were being so secretive.

When the door had finally opened, I was greeted by pitch black. They often did this to confuse people who were not familiar--people who did not belong. If you indeed _had_ worked here, you would know not to even _think _about going forward--you'd fall of the ridge. But instead, take an immediate left. Three steps forward and there should be a stairway. A _long _stairway that zigzagged. It was very hard to _not _run into the walls. But the Seekers made it slightly easier. Whenever a step was too long, it meant a turn--either left or right, you had to decide. Well, you'd still have a fifty-fifty chance at running into the wall. But as long as you memorized the way, no problem. I hadn't quite figured that one out, I realized, when I ran face-first into the wall. _Oh yeah, that was supposed to be _right.

Finally freed of the dark and exposed to the light always made me flinch. It looked so…_homey. _The floor looked like a chessboard. Black and white tiles were seen below all feet. There was a large, wide, _white _table that centered the room. A flat screen TV, currently on "Channel 2 News," was at the right of the table. There was a large white screen behind the master chair. That was the messy center and the only place that looked like an actual office; there were scattered papers on the floor and pictures of maps posted all over the bulletin board and sometimes on the white screen. There was a bar no one used to the further left corner. Lovely satin sofas, that no one sat on, lounged near me; south of the building. _How ironic that such a lovely home would be hosted by such a vile pile of creatures. _

I stopped in my tracks. _Get a grip, _I told himself. My hands fisted and unfisted. It took me approximately 9 seconds to control that anger. _I was improving, _I thought with a wry smile on my lips.

And speaking of those vile creatures, they were sitting down at the table, talking a little too quietly for my taste. My lips perked.

"Elise," I said, making my presence known.

A woman there turned to look at me. I guess she was beautiful; I never really paid attention. She looked very average. Her hair was wavy and shaded into a light brown. It was scattered _very _neatly around her face and ended near her stomach.

Her brown eyes brightened a tad. She ran up to me and kissed my lips. I held her cheek as I kissed her back. With her back to the other Seekers, she smiled brightly and whispered my name; "Rivers."

I merely looked at her. I have no idea why she'd fallen in love with me, maybe it was an act. ...No, I've seen her act and she was horrible.

She gripped my hand and her smile faded as she lead me towards the others.

In case you didn't know, Elise was my partner. No, I did not love her…, but there was something about her… I don't know why, but I don't trust her. She's kind and would never cause damage to anyone.

And that bothered me.

I had married her to keep a close eye on her. There was something that didn't seem right.

My pointless assumptions were put aside when I sat down. I had taken my seat at the end of the table--the master chair. There was 6 of us. To my left there were three and to my right there were two. Those that were on my left I didn't know. Those that were on my right I did not trust for an instant. I watched them extra closely. Even Rodgers, the soul who had been in here before, hadn't trusted them. Well, he didn't trust one of them. And as for Rodgers…I'll get to him later.

Cloudy Days was a big, black man. He didn't look friendly. He looked kinda alert. I knew he was a soul, but he had been the one who had dealt with the worst of the resistant humans. It would be shocking to go through that and _not _be scarred.

Bridging Across was peppy. He was practically bouncing in his chair as he looked at me with those blue eyes full of life. He was very, very, young. I think he was 10 years old. But he had a knack of getting the humans to follow along with pretty much anything. I think he was a hypnotist.

Alarms Aloud was not what you'd think she'd be. The name of a soul always told her story or personality, mainly personality, but Alarms Aloud was pretty much the opposite of what her name meant. She was always sleeping and as a matter of fact, she was sleeping right now. If it weren't for her hawk vision, she'd be kicked out instantly. No seriously, she had vision that surpassed normal. She would take one look at the eyes, about a mile away, and know what we were dealing with.

"Alarms! Wake up!" someone shouted.

Her hair was long and sleek--pitch black. She was the same age as Elise--both of them were twenty four. She had fair skin and she looked like a ghost whenever she woke up. She looked so confused.

The person who had woken her up was sitting on the right side of the table. He nodded to me and said, "Head Rivers is here."

His name was Above. I think that was just a nickname, though. No one used his real name. I hardly had _any _info about him. But according to my "expert" analysis, he looked about eighteen years old--barely an adult. He looked like he could be Alarms Aloud's brother with the short black sleek hair, the fair skin, and the hazel eyes. He obeyed all orders and did what was needed to be done quickly and skillfully.

That also bothered me. And as you might already know the only person sitting next to him, sitting close to me actually, was Elise.

"So R--Head Rivers. You're so early today. Is there a certain reason?" she asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

After taking a look at them all, I stood up and walked to a certain cabinet. I was tired. I hadn't slept in days and my head was _aching_…but I was almost done. I had nine more letters to go. I was standing in front of the S cabinet. I had finished the R cabinet last night.

There were so many cabinets they took up the entire outlining of the room. I opened the S cabinet and picked a file that held the names of several parasitized humans whose last name had begun with an S. I noticed then, that I still hadn't answered Elise's question.

"No. Does it bother you that I came so early?" I answered with my eyes on the papers I was looking through. All I had to do was find the eyes--those eyes that were so recognizable.

"Not really." She stayed quiet. I turned around and noticed she was perking her lips. I could tell there was more she had wanted to say. I beat her to it.

"Yes," I said slowly. I took my file with me and sat down on the table. I continued to look through the eyes of the souls, picture after picture. "There is a reason for me being early."

I was nearing the end of the file and had struck nothing, as always. When I reached the last page…I took a bit longer than one second to turn away.

It was a picture of a girl. She had long, pretty, dark brown hair. Her face would be pretty if she had only smiled. Her skin was tanned to an olive color. In my opinion, she looked like a desert empress. But it was not her glorious looks that had stopped me.

Those eyes. They were dark. I think they were brown, but the light from the camera kinda faded it out. There was a silver lining to her eyes. All souls had that, of course, but it just seemed familiar…

I closed the file and slammed it on the table. _DAMMIT! _I screamed in my mind. It was amazing my face wasn't distorted from all that anger. _I'm so desperate that I'm imagining things! _

Although I had not screamed in anger, the file making a thud on the table was enough. They all wore a wary look.

Maybe if I got out and did my job more often, I wouldn't be so frustrated in not finding her. Maybe if I saw more people, I could forget about her…Maybe if I saw more people, _I could find her. _

A brilliant thought came to my mind., but I kept all emotion off my face. If I was going to be seeing people, I would need to see them _all._ Even humans.

"Do you remember a few months back when Suzanne had been going on about a human resistance?" I blurted out. Suzanne was crazy and stupid. She was always searching for this group of human resistance she thought was in Arizona. And while searching for them, she stuck to the stupid decision of wearing all black.

"I know that I might be just thinking too hard…but what if there really _was _a human resistance? And what if it was a large one? How do you think they'd be able to survive?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at them all.

"Are you saying…" It took Elise a while to finish, "…Are you saying that you found proof of the human resistance?"

"No," I said while shaking my head. "But it makes me believe there might be souls working with humans." I was making this up as I went. I really didn't care about the rumored human resistance, but if there was a chance she was there…

"I have an idea to solve this," I continued. "Maybe we should interrogate them all. Band together all the seekers, but tell them nothing but what is necessary. If the souls act normal, set them free; if you have the slightest, _slightest_, suspicion of them…send them to me."

I stood up, ready to leave. The group was about to continue on with their debates but my hesitations stopped them. "Ah…I would like to add something. For each _person _you interrogate, both safe or suspicious, send them to me here. At the facility. I will be putting a very tiny chip into a bracelet that will be mechanically chained to their wrist. We will have a computerized map that will tell us where each soul is." I saw them all beginning to gape. "There will be no privacy concerns, the map is very vague. Just says how much souls are in a city. _If _they're in a city."

"This is an outrage!" Alarms shouted. Her fist pounded on the table and she looked at me. She realized she had just shouted and gasped a little. She controlled her emotions and looked at me again with a tight face. "Are you really going to go this far?"

"Of course. We need to get to them all." And with that, I took my leave.

They really thought I was doing this to get rid of the humans. All I wanted was to find that precious lifeform that had saved me so long ago--nearly five centuries. No, I didn't care of the humans. All I wanted was to find _her. _

Silver Flames.

* * *

**A/N: I simply love to throw people off! Don't get me wrong, the real reason I throw peope off is because my storyline's complicated. Just ask me questions and I'll try to answer. Let me answer what's obvious first, well, not so obvious, but I'd like to answer them anyway.**

**--Yes, this is Rivers Soothing speaking. And yes, he is the top seeker. Wonder how he got there…**

**--The girl whom Rivers saw at the end of one of the files really was Melanie. **

**--The Suzanne that Rivers had mentioned was indeed Wanda/Mel's seeker. She never had a name, so I figured I should give her one. **

**--The map that I envisioned was one of those green map with blinking lights. I think the government uses them...**

**Anyway, hope I didn't confuse you _too _much. Throw me thoughtsies; even if they such. Oh, I should say that I usually update on the weekends. Just so you know.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: If I owned the Host I would be jumping around. As you can clearly see, I am not jumping on your monitor screen. Apparently, I don't own the Host...**

* * *

_Wanda's Point Of View_

_It was cold. It was dark. I was surrounded by bushes and it was raining. I didn't need to turn around to know it was raining; the window I was staring at had rain streaks._

_Besides, I didn't want to turn around. I was too fascinated by the scenery past the window._

_I could vaguely tell it was a hospital room. The walls were white, as were the tiles on the floor. There was an occupied bed with railings. _

_Although the windows were rain-streaked, I could tell it was a woman reclining on the bed. She was young, beautiful, and her golden locks belonged to that of an angel. There was a man standing beside her. He was crouching down to get a better view of her face; he was just so tall! There was something I noticed about that man…_

_Because even through the blurry windows…I _knew _he was beautiful. I couldn't make him out; all I could see was that pale skin and dark hair. _

_And the woman…she was holding a child. Oh, I wish I could get past these darkened windows to get a peak. _

_They looked…happy. I couldn't see their faces, but there was a huge happy aura literally _glowing _around them. It was a happy aura that kept all sadness away. _

_It was an aura that kept _me _out. _

_The door opening pulled me out of my depressing thoughts. Three people stepped in. The first one in was a boy who was literally bouncing with happiness. He almost looked like a man, but his happiness seemed…childlike.. The next in was a man. He was happy as well but not bouncing like the boy. This man was also beautiful; his hair was streaked gold. _

_The last one in was a woman. She looked…strong. Her skin was tanned. Her hair was beautiful, long, and the same color as her eyes--dark brown. I wonder why her features were so easier to tell than the others. And then…_

_She turned to look at me. Well, I thought she looked at me; after all, she could just be looking at the window. The window was quite large so I walked to the far right corner. The woman's eyes followed. _

Oh no! I was discovered, _I thought. And then the woman smiled. Just with her smile the picture became clear--it was Melanie. The rest of the picture became clearer with details, but it was fading away. Fear compulsed me to take a quick look at everyone. They were easily identifiable. Jared and Jamie were the two who had walked in with Melanie. And the happy new family…_

_WAS THAT ME!?_

* * *

I woke up flinging my arms in the empty air while screaming. I was sitting up and gasping for air. The next thing I knew was that I was sobbing.

_That was me!! And I was holding my baby and Ian was standing next to me and…and…_I whipped my nose with my shoulder sleeve. _And I didn't even see them!!_

Melanie had left me alone because she needed to help taking out the carrots. That was obviously put aside 'cause I heard her running towards my room. She flung the door open and saw me awake, sniffling.

I was propped up into a loose sitting position, mainly my arms supporting me. She ran to my side and didn't say a word. She just stayed there and finally whispered "You okay?"

That brought the tears all over again. I threw my arms around her and started sobbing. She kept patting my back and said "I'm sorry" over and over again.

* * *

"_I wonder what would happen to Ian, if he were to lose me…I wonder what would happen to _me _if _I _were to lose _him…"

It seemed like ages ago when I had thought that when, in reality, it had been only a few days ago. Well, it looks like my _wondering _is over.

For some reason…, it doesn't really feel _bad. _It doesn't feel good either. It feels like…hmm, how to explain this…well, it feels like _nothing at all. _Yeah, I guess _nothing _is the right word to describe this feeling inside my hollow chest.

This emptiness brings back memories. Memories of all my lifetimes when I'd been a soul--mechanical and repetitive. Always the same; never different. Well, there was _one _life when I'd been free and full of emotion. It had been my life on--

I hit a wall. _My life on…where? _

A vivid mental picture of that strange planet I'd kept dreaming of flashed across my mind. Yellow grass and reddish surrounding. It looked like I was about to have that dream again but I'm not…sure? Was I hallucinating or something? I can kind of describe what I'm "hallucinating."

I hear screaming. This place---here, where I am---is on…fire. There's people running around and hiding…but it didn't make sense. These people had bright wings on their back; why didn't they use them?

_Because they want to stay hidden, _said a voice to me. A voice I did not recognize. It sounded like me, but I would seriously _know _if it was me thinking. _Because they want to hide from those repulsive Seekers, _said the voice.

_What? What's going on? Who are you? _I thought frantically.

_Who am I? _said the voice. _I'm an old friend of yours…Why don't we just continue on with your dream? _

_No! I've had enough with voices in my mind! I already shared my mind with Melanie and I will _not _go through that again! Tell me who you are and how you got inside…my head! _I thought, desperately trying to act fierce.

The voice stayed quiet as well did the visions.

_What was going on?! I've had enough with mysteries; all I want are answers! _I shrieked violently in my head.

_So, what're you gonna do about it? _replied the alien voice.

_What am I gonna do about it? _I gritted my teeth. _First things first, I'm going to deal with the mysteries that _don't _hurt my head!_

_But the only mystery that doesn't hurt your head hurts your _heart_. Doesn't that bother you? _replied the smart-aleck voice.

_Doesn't matter. Now do you mind shutting up? _

I could tell that got to her. She shut her mouth.

I pulled myself away from Mel and started packing my things.

She looked shocked. "Wait, Wanda what're you doing?" I stopped to look at her; she was halfway between standing up and sitting back down. Her mouth hung agape.

I looked at her with determination in my eyes. "I'm leaving."

Her eyes became more and more confused; "What are you talking about?"

I picked up the tote bag. In it, I would be carrying a few essentials--not that I'd be needing much. I looked up and gave her a remote look as I answered, "Off to find Ian. Where else?"

It was hard. I had no idea that it would be _that _hard to just pronounce his name. I managed to pull it off quite nicely.

She was at a loss to words. But her eyes widening gave enough response.

As I started to walk away, she came back to her senses. She crossed the room quickly and gripped my arm--hard.

I just looked at her with as much distant look I could manage. I didn't want her thinking I was afraid so that she would follow.

Uh oh. I completely forgot.

Melanie has the amazingly annoying power of reading my mind (not really, but it might as well be)

"I'm not letting you leave here."

Before I even opened my mouth she continued, "I don't care how upset you are, there's no chance I'm letting you leave."

Her eyes were blazing and I could tell it would take some hard work to convince her.

I tried to match her look--in total failure. "Melanie, I'm _going,_"

"And I just said you're not," her eyes showed no pity as she said this, "You _do_ know it will be impossible for you to escape once I've told people this. As a matter of fact…"

She let go of my arm and was about to step out the door.

"Wait!" I held onto her arm.

She raised an eyebrow at me. _Do you want to explain why you're doing this first?_ her eyes said to me.

I sighed. "You know, Melanie, it's partly your fault that I'm leaving."

She blinked twice. "What?" Her voice sounded childlike.

"You're a bad influence," I said with a tiny smile. "When you thought you were never going to see Jared again--when the Seekers found you---you didn't just give up. You kept fighting. It seemed hopeless, but you really did manage to keep them safe. Jared would've done the same…and do you really think I'd have done different than you?"

Her eyes softened. She let out a chuckle and sighed while looking at her feet. She peered under her lashes and told me with a sly look, "I really am a bad influence."

My eyes danced a little; _So you believe me?_

"No, I don't believe you in the fact that you get that from me," she said with a smile, "But I'm pretty sure you get that stubbornness from me."

I looked at her hopefully.

She studied me warily for a moment. "I'm not gonna shake you on this, am I?"

I shook my head with a smile.

She sighed again. "Okay then, off we go."

* * *

I didn't know how long I stood there with my mouth hung open like an idiot. Melanie was already packed when she said "Quit gaping! I'm going with you and you're _not _budging me on that."

"But Mel--"

"Hey, hey, hey! I said _no budging." _

I rolled my eyes. When she said no budging, she really meant it.

"Whatever. Just don't bother me too much," I said as I turned around. As soon as I'd remembered my mission, my cold mood had come back. As well, as that annoying voice.

_Don't you mean 'just don't bother _us _too much?' _said the voice.

_Shut up. _I swear, if I keep hearing voices in my head, I'm going to end up on a not-so-comfy recliner with a "doctor" pretending to listen to me.

_Ew, I hate therapists! _whined the voice.

_Hey, I might go to therapy just to hear you suffer. _I thought with a smile.

I was so entranced by making my voice suffer that I didn't notice Lily sitting on the floor.

"WAGH!" I screamed as I tripped over her and fell--face first--onto the ground.

"Wanda, is it true?" I heard her whisper. She turned around to face me, but my face was currently still mashed on the ground.

When I didn't answer, she cleared her throat and continued, in a much determined voice, "Is it true that you want to leave!?"

Oh, I hated all this drama.

Plus, my face still hurts.

* * *

**A/N: Wanda just keeps getting little voices in her head, doesn't she? Poor Wanda. And I'm sorry to make you feel bad Wanda, but you need to listen to your little annoying voice. I'm also sorry for all the drama, but there's plenty more coming.**

**This is the second time Wanda's tripped over Lily. **

**I keep giving bits and bits of the strange world Wanda keeps dreaming. And now there are Seekers involved? Hmm, I wonder what's going on…**

**Well, I'm sure I'll find out some day. Reviews might speed the updates along!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I've been throwing up, sleep-deprived, and taking care of both finals and babies. And I still know that I don't own the Host. Wait, do I? No, no, I'm pretty sure I don't. See, I still have a brain!**

* * *

"Is it true you that you want to leave!?" Lily shrieked at me.

I was unable to answer her, for I was on the floor with my face on the ground, my butt in the air, and my knees slouched and scarred. My mess of blond curls were obscuring my view.

_Why can't I ever make a clean get-away? Someone always has to find me! Am I just not the good at sneaking? _I thought to myself.

I've lived with a voice in my head before, but it still surprised me when it answered. _Yes. You're __**really**__ crappy at sneaking. I would've done _way _better. _

_I don't need any comment, Voice! _I groaned.

"Wanda!" Mel whispered. She quickly ran to me and helped me up. "Are you okay?" she said , once I was up.

I nodded.

"Are you going to answer me, Wanda?" Lily pestered. She was looking at me with such a shrewd look, I felt like I had to duck my head.

Melanie answered, "Lily…, yes, we are leaving for a raid. We're going to get some medical stuff for Wanda. Her stomach pains haven't come back, but we just can't risk it."

Wow. She was really good at lying. Unlike me.

Lily looked unfazed. She turned to me and answered, "I want to hear Wanda answer me."

I gave a stupid little "eep." And after that, I gave a stupid "Um…"

Lily exhaled loudly. "Wanda, I'm not letting you go. Well, at least not without me."

I felt like someone had just thrown a bowling ball at my head. "…Uh…Can you repeat that?"

"Wanda!" Lily shouted.

"Shut your trap!" Melanie hissed. She looked around; people would be getting up now. "Alright, that's it! You're coming with us and Wanda don't start _anything!" _Melanie said quickly through her clenched teeth.

_And just __**what **__did she think I would be starting?_

I heard someone sigh inside my head. _You are so clueless…_

I ignored the voice for now. In the meantime, I had to deal with more important things, like trying not to fall on my face again, trying not to trip over my feet, _and _keep a hold on the tote bag. Plenty of stuff.

The three of us were running through the tunnels as fast as we could. They were awake and I heard some of them chasing after us, voicing questions.

I'm surprised they didn't catch me. Lily and Melanie were natural-born runners; I was a natural-born…well, I just _know _I'm not a natural-born runner. But still, I managed to escape.

We ran towards the Jeep without slowing down. Mel and I threw our bags in and jumped in. Since we basically _dragged_ Lily out here, she didn't have any luggage. She just jumped in the back seat and strapped herself in. I took shot-gun and Melanie jumped into the driving seat. As soon as she was seated, Melanie threw the car into drive.

And so, we drove in this burning night. Yes, in Arizona there was actually such a thing as a _burning night. _We had no idea where we would be going, the people we would see, or the surprises we might get.

But we were on our own. I looked up from my feet to face the city lights. The city lights that were drawing closer to us. Or rather, _we _were drawing closer to _them. _

For some reason, that feel like it had a double-meaning.

* * *

"So…where are we going again?" Melanie said ten minutes later, ultimately breaking the silence.

It hadn't occurred to me that I would actually need a place in mind.

I frowned and scratched my head. "I was kind of hoping we could just wander the streets and keep our eyes peeled…"

"Great plan, Wanda," Mel said while rolling her eyes.

"Got something better?" I challenged.

Melanie smiled. She always smiled when I acted like her. "Not really."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "Hmm, maybe we should stay at a hotel. So we can catch up on our sleep."

"Sure."

Soon, we had reached Tacoma. The town seemed…oddly quiet. I had seen all the lights from afar, but now that we were here, Tacoma seemed so empty.

"It's like a ghost town," Lily whispered behind my back.

Meanwhile, Melanie kept her eyes on the road and the speed limit. My eyes were doing a bit of wandering around.

There was something…familiar about this place. I had never seen an empty town, so I had no idea why it was so familiar. It's just…the _emptiness. _It brought back memories…

_Wait, what memories? _My eyes narrowed, trying to figure it out.

"Wanda? What's wrong?" Lily was looking at me with her head cocked to one side. "You look like you're doing a hard math problem."

"Am I?" was all I replied.

"Yeah…is something bothering… Never mind." Lily shook her head and faced away from me.

I stayed silent. It was a good thing she didn't finish that question, but I still feel like she had said it out loud. Was something bothering me? _Was something bothering me!? _

I shook my head and pulled the tip of my fingers to my temples. _I would've been so disgusted, if she had actually asked me that question, _I thought to myself.

_You're not alone on that, _someone echoed me.

_I wish I was alone on that. Now, can you _please _be quiet? I'm trying to think, _I whispered.

_Think about what? _the voice questioned.

_Uh, didn't you just hear the "be quiet" part? _I thought.

_Oh…, well, I'm not gonna shut up so easily! _

_It's not that I don't like you…wait, I __**don't **__like you, but that's not the point. I think I'm just getting to the point where I realized how bad my life really is. I'm feeling so dizzy and I just want to cry…_

_I think you're in shock. _

_Yeah, _I sighed sliding one hand from my temples to cover my eyes, _I think I am._

_Um…don't…worry…I'm sorry, but that's all I've got._

_It's okay, _I said with another sigh.

_At least I'm not Lily._

_Yeah…Come to think about it, who exactly _are _you? I don't mean to be rude, but if I'm seriously going to share my head with someone, you could do me the favor of telling me your name. _

_Oh…_

_Privacy issues? _I asked with a small chuckle, _Well, that sure is going to be a problem. When you share a head, it's kind of hard to keep secrets. _

_No, it's not a secret…_

_Then tell me._

_I just…Fine. I'll tell you… _

_Still waiting here. _

_Um…it's Silver Flames. _

My eyebrows rose. _Well, Miss. Silver Flames, it's __**very **__nice to meet you. Just in case you don't know, my name's Wanderer. But friends call me Wanda._

_I know who you are, Wanda._

_Oh yeah? Well, since you're treating me so politely…, do me another favor._

…_What?_

_Tell me how you got in my head. _

The wall came up again.

_So, not gonna answer me again? Oh, you're just __**so **__nice. When I tell you to shut up, you keep talking; and when I want you to say something, you shut up. Where did you come from---Opposite world?_

Silence. But I swear, I heard a faint chuckle.

_So far away, girl; I came from Fire World. _

_You decided to invade my head again? So Fire world? Now, do you mind answering my last question or should I ask another?_

_Ask another. _

_Okay, tell me…how did a girl from Fire world end up in my head?_

…

_Oh, how clever you are! See, I just rephrased that question, but you still gave me the dot-dot-dot symbol! I guess I'll have to try again..._

_Ugh, why won't you __**shut up**__?_

_Well, we're currently in Opposite World, so this time I'm the one who won't shut up._

I heard her groan.

_How about "what are you?" Can you answer that question?_

_What do you mean, what am I? I'm a girl, obviously._

_No, really!? How amazing, I had __**no **__way of knowing that! Well, thank you so much for clearing that misunderstanding! You know what I meant._

Another groan. _And you should know by know, I'm not answering that._

_Well then, how about "Are you alive?" "Are you human?" "How many lives have you lived?" "Are you my conscious?" _

_Ugh, shut up, shut up, shut __**up! **__If I shut up, will you shut up!?_

_Maybe…I still don't know what you are or how you got in my head…I think I deserve to know that._

_Yeah, well that is one--no, two--question that I will absolutely, certainly, __**not **__answer!_

_Pushy! If I'm going to be dealing with you, at least tell me some more about you! That way, we're even!_

_Even? Yeah, right! The only thing I know about you is that you have curly blond hair, you're an expecting mother, and you have a husband lost at sea or town or whatever! Oh yeah, I know you're name's Wanda._

_But…_My head cocked in confusion, _Aren't you the one invading me, though? I remember when I invaded Melanie, I learned mostly everything about her. I didn't learn the important stuff, but I still knew. Don't…you know __**anything **__about me?_

I felt Miss. Silver Flames shake her head. Or my head. Well, _our head. _But she didn't actually shake it, no, I just felt her try. Anyway.

_No. I don't know anything about you, besides what I've learned since I've been in here._

_And how long is that?_

_I…don't know exactly how __**long**__. Or even when I came here. But I know when it was that I first felt myself inside another person. A.K.A You. _

_And…when would that be? Last year? Since I was born? I'm thowing suggestions, untill you throw me answers._

_When that guy you're so in love with put the morphine inside of you._

_The day I first started having my dreams, _I stated.

_Yeah…_

My instinct kicked in like a bullet. _Do you…_I narrowed my eyes, _Do you know anything about those dreams?_

_Your dreams on…that place? No…, I don't know. _

I could feel her trying to put the wall again.

_You do know something. Tell me, why I'm having those dreams. That was…that was you I was dreaming of, wasn't it? _My eyes were widening in fear now. _You were the girl with the wings._

_No, I wasn't…Or rather…I wasn't the only one with those red-colored wings._

_What…do you mean? And __**why **__was I seeing it through your own eyes? It felt so real… It almost felt as if it were actually __**me **__up there…But I guess dreams are supposed to be from your own point of view. Hmm, I wonder. That place…_

I could feel her fear rising up. I was getting close to the jackpot.

_That…was that the Fire World? _

I could feel it again; her trying to put up the wall. But she wasn't so good at it; I hear her say _yes. _

_Wow…and I always thought Fire World was so repulsive, but if I remember correctly, the view was so pretty. And I remember soaring through the sky… _I thought silently. But it almost seemed as if they weren't my words. Almost.

These, however, were not my words. _Remembering? Do you mean remembering an experience or a thought of an experience __**or**__ a thought of a thought that's just a thought and nothing more?_

_Wait, what was that last one? _I crossed my arms, _Well, I __**know**__ it wasn't an experience. I've never been to the Fire World; why would you even ask me that? _

_Because…Just because. _

_You know, you're just as bad a liar as me. Well, at least I'm learning. But wait, that was __**your **__experience, right? You__**were** the one who was flying, right? Right?_

…

_Why are you giving me the dot-dot-dot?! I don't want to hear a dot-dot-dot, I want to hear answers!_

_It's called an ellipsis!_

_Like, I care! I want answers!_

_Well, I'm not giving them to you! I told you before and now I'm saying it again; I'm not going to answer those questions!_

_Why; are they too __**personal **__for you!? What the hell is wrong with my questions and why won't you just answer them!!_

_Because that would be giving away too much. Because you would give me out. Because I would see that bastard again. _

_Bastard? Who's he? Wait a second, is that __**giving away too much**__?_

_You are so annoying…_

_Look who's talking._

_I'll tell you, but it won't do you any good._

_Fine then, forget it._

_No, no, no. You want to know, don't you? You absolutely love having your __**answers**__. _

I grumbled silently to myself. _Wait for her to finish, wait for her to finish…_I chanted silently to myself.

Unfortunately, "myself" answered back. _Yes, wait for me to finish, good girl. Okay, the bastard's name is Rivers Soothing. I used to love him, but now…I can't._

_You…can't? Is he gone? _I felt a little weird; this was more than I was used to her saying.

_You're not the only one on that. And no, he's not gone. But it doesn't matter if he's alive. It doesn't matter if I know he's in Phoneix, Arizona, right now. I don't care about that…_

_What!? _I was fed up, trying to search for the love of my life--the father of the child I was carrying--and here this girl was--inside my head--who loves some guy, knows he's alive and _where _he is, but she doesn't even care!? How selfish is that!?

_Calm down! The reason I don't care is because he doesn't love me back! _I felt her fighting tears. It was strange, because suddenly _I _felt like crying. _I mean, he __**left **__me there on the Fire World to die!!_

I felt her remembering. She was remembering that vision I had seen before---when I first heard her speak to me. **(Chapter 13, people. Just FYI) **The place was on fire. There were people screaming and hiding---flying and running. _I _was running. _I _was scared. No, _she _was running and feeling scared. Hang on…

I was absolutely positive it was _me _who was running and feeling scared. I was _absolutely_ positive.

And she knew. She slammed the wall with such a force I felt myself actually _swerve._

* * *

"OH CRAP!" I heard Melanie shout. She was getting sleepy and started to swerve along the road. The smooth ground turned rough and Melanie had swerved out of the way---_before _we hit that huge cactus.

"You're sleepy." I answered. "Maybe we should just stop here and sleep in the car."

Melanie turned to look at me. "No, we're almost there. I'm so sorry for doing that. You didn't get hurt or anything, right?"

"No, I didn't. How about you, Lily?" I asked, while turning around.

Lily looked kind of scruffy. She was scratching the top of her messy hair and yawning, "Nope I'm not hurt. But you sure hurt my sleeping radar."

"Sorry, Lily," Melanie said. "Say sorry to your sleeping radar, will ya, Lily?" Melanie had a big smile on her face as she stared deeply into the road.

"Sure, sure. I just want to go to the hotel already--" Lily froze when we passed a street lamp. She was staring at me with a worried face. "Wanda? Um…you're looking unusually pale…"

At least it wasn't a stupid question. I remembered _why _I was unusually pale, like in shock. After all I had heard from Silver Flames…I kind of dozed off after that and didn't hear Melanie and Lily's attempts to get my attention.

* * *

I was spacing out too much. The shock really hadn't worn off. I was lying in a hotel bedroom, facing the wall. I turned around and saw Melanie's sleeping anxious face. She was anxious even in her sleep. I propped myself on my elbow to see Lily on the other bed, sleeping silently.

I lay back down. This shock really wasn't going away, was it?

But the shock came to some use. If it hadn't kept me awake, I would've never heard the door opening slightly. I would've never heard them coming in. And when I mean them, I actually mean _them. _

Sometimes being in shock was a good thing.

* * *

**A/N: Big sigh I think that's one of the longest chapters I've written! Long time, no see. I've been kinda busy, you know: throwing up, sleeping 4-5 hours, taking care of baby niece, studying for finals. Yeah…But after all that crazy studying, now I have made time! Even Eisten never _made _time! In your face, Einstein!**

**So, I've revealed a lot of things, haven't I? "This answered so many questions, but they were significant to the amount of questions that just now opened up. At least the rain has stopped." --Bella Swan. **Now if I didn't say that right, please don't do that twilight-craze-thing on me. I hardly have the time.

**Now, I really worked hard on this, so please give me thoughts (in review form)! If you liked it, if you hated it, if you are absolutely confused and are thinking about seeing a therapist. Anything that makes me think. If it doesn't make me think…well at least you tried. **

**I'll update soon, if you send me serious reviews! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I don't own the Host, but I _do_ own a bag of skittles...Yeah, that's not good enough, right? **

* * *

My eyes widened as I heard someone knocking--it didn't sound threatening, but as human rebels (yes, that includes me), we took everything as threatening.

I quickly sat up and it startled Melanie awake. "Under the beds," I whispered and she understood. She quickly woke up Lily and dragged her under the bed, where they would hide.

"Say nothing, no matter what happens. I'm a soul; I can escape. You're human; you can't. If something bad happens, we go back to the resistance," I whispered in a rush.

The knocking stopped and the door was forced open. I looked at the door with wide eyes.

Two people were standing before me--one a young man and the other a young woman. They looked as if they were siblings: both had black sleek hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin. But they wore different expressions: the woman looked sympathetic and tired; the man looked calm and in control.

The woman stepped up first. She walked up to me; I backed away. "Why are you here?" I asked immediately, trying to make my voice hard.

The woman looked confused. She cocked her head at me and stayed quiet. _Aw, damn! I forgot I'm supposed to act like a soul! I should've said something like "Is there anything I can do for you?" _

She still didn't answer and kept walking towards me. "Why are you here?" I said, struggling to keep my tone.

I got a good look at her face now. She was…really pretty. But she looked like she hadn't slept in days, so did the man, actually, but he didn't show it. She seemed so kind…she couldn't possibly be a threat…

I was shocked when she seized my hand and rapidly injected a greenish liquid into me via a needle. I snatched my hand back and punched her. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" I screamed.

I couldn't escape through the door; the man was standing guard there. I glanced back at the window; I would jump, but we were on the 3rd floor and I didn't feel like dying at the moment. I looked at the woman again with a ferocious look on my face. But the anger towards her was seeping into something else. Something that smelled...sickly sweet.

She was rubbing her jaw and she looked sympathetic. She closed her eyes and said, "I'm sorry. If it were my choice, I wouldn't do this."

I only caught half of that though. I was already on the ground.

* * *

I woke up sitting inside a dark van. My hands were bound and so were my feet. I glanced frantically around; _What am I doing here!? Did Melanie and Lily make it out? _

_I don't know, _replied the only voice who could hear me. Silver Flames.

_Do you know anything!? _I shrieked.

_Calm down! I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Melanie and Lily made it. They're tough and they're not dumb enough to have fallen into the hands of souls. _

_Yeah, so that means _I'm _dumb. I knew it all along, _I said with a sigh.

_No…that's not what I meant, _Silver Flames said.

_I know…I just wish I knew where we were…_

"Hey! What's going on?" I heard a man say.

"What're we doing here?" a woman said frantically.

"Let us out!" shouted a little boy.

"Calm down. You'll be out in a second," I heard someone tiredly say. It was the woman who had shot the sleeping medicine into me.

"No! We deserve some explaining! Why are we being kidnapped!?" said that one man.

"You'll all know soon. Don't worry, they won't do anything bad to you," she replied again.

"Where are we being taken to?" said a high female voice. It was a voice who sounded familiar. _Where have I heard this before…?_

"Stay quiet," whispered a male voice. A voice I knew. Or I thought I knew. Or it sounded like I knew. I did know it, right? Right?!

"Sunny!?" I shouted. I was absolutely positive I knew _her _voice. "Sunny, are you in here!? It's me, Wanda!"

"Wanda?" I heard her voice squeak.

"Sunny, I'm so glad you're here!" I said, frantically crawling towards her. It was hard to--with my hands and feet tied up, but I managed to crawl caterpillar style. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could vaguely see her short structure.

I finally reached her and pulled her into a hug. ("How did I do that?" you may be asking. Well, my hands were tied so I just put them _over _her head. That meant she couldn't hug me, but oh well.)

"Oh my gosh…, Wanda! I can't…believe…you're here!" I could hear her voice hiccupping. She was crying. "We all thought…something bad happened…to you! Wanda, where's…Melanie and…Lily? Are they…here, too?"

"Calm down, Sunny," I said while stroking her back. "I'll explain everything later. But first tell me…" I was a little nervous. It was the voice that had said "Stay quiet," that I wasn't sure of.

My eyes adjusted enough to see her face. She had tear streaks and her dark eyes were wide in fright. But she also looked a tad confused. "Yes?" she said.

"Um…is…is there someone next to you?" I whispered as quietly as I could.

"Yeah…it's Kyle," she whispered, trying to copy my tone. "Oh my gosh, Wanda, we were on--"

"Shut up," I replied instantly. She looked a little hurt. "Save it for later, okay, Sunny?" She nodded.

"Um…Kyle?" I asked hesitantly.

"…Yeah, Wanda?" he said, equally as hesitant. It seemed like forever since I had heard him. I absolutely refused to look at him; the resemblance to _him _was too much.

"Um…it's nice…to see you. You know, even if we're in some unknown place in the dark with our hands and feet tied up. It's still nice," I said feeling like an idiot and wishing he was _gone_.

"Well, I can't actually see you, Wanda. But if I could…, well, I don't know where I'm going with this," he said with a chuckle.

I heard someone sigh. "I'm trying to sleep…here… Can you guys…shut up…for two…seconds…?" I heard Ms. Kidnapper say. She yawned loudly, adding emphasis to the sleep part.

I turned towards Ms. Kidnapper. She was sitting behind the passenger seat and her eyes were closed. I could tell that someone had taken the seats out of this van, because it was kind of wide. Someone was sitting in the drivers side, but I couldn't tell who--maybe _Mr_. Kidnapper. The front window was slightly visible; It was nighttime and Mr. Kidnapper had the headlights turned off. This could mean he had good vision or he was some kind of strange mutant/soul who could see anything--be it in light or night--for miles.

This could also mean I was thinking too hard.

I sighed and nestled into sleep myself. Or tried to.

_Are you seriously thinking of sleeping!? _Silver Flames shrieked.

_Yeah, is there a problem with that, Silvers? _I asked, honestly exhausted.

_Of course there's a problem with that!! Who knows what these people want with us!? Ask them where they're taking us and ask them NOW!!!! _Silver Flames screeched. She was being so demanding; what was wrong?

_That's none of your beeswax, Ramona! Now, just do what I say! _

_You're being awfully demanding for a parasite/conscious. I don't know who you think you are, but __**I'm**_ _the one in control. You can't tell me what to do! _I shouted, starting to get seriously annoyed.

_Step off your high horse, Wanderer, and ask! I __**need **__to know, _she said pleadingly.

_She's not gonna answer me; they've already asked! _

I could feel her sense of defeat. She was _dying _to know where we were heading and I didn't know why. _Silvers…please tell me what's wrong…_

_No…I said it's none of your business. _

_Yes, it is. Maybe I can help. _

Comprehension started to bubble inside of Silvers. _Yeah…, maybe you can help…But I'm still not telling you, _she said stubbornly.

_Oh, come on! _I shouted.

_Look, you're going to figure it out, eventually! So…it doesn't really matter, _Silvers said as she put up the wall.

Unfortunately for her, I was skilled at climbing walls--the mental ones, I mean.

I could hear her silently chant: _Please don't take us to Phoenix…Please don't take us to Phoenix…Please don't take us to Phoenix…_

_Oh yeah, Rivers Soothing is in Phoenix, _I blurted.

I felt Silvers' eyes narrowing.

_Okay, okay; I mean "the bastard," _I thought with a chuckle.

_At least I know he's alive! Unlike your beloved Ian, _she shot at me.

That hurt in too many ways. I was done being nice.

_Shut up, Silver Flames. Even if you were to see you love, you're still in **my** body. You might want to start begging for me to even let you __**see **__your love. As for me, I can hug Ian all I want and you can simply watch like the stupid body-less parasite you are._

Silver Flames was stunned. _Wow..., I didn't know you'd be so hurt…Hey, he's not my love!_

_Whatever, _I thought, still hurting inside.

"Alarms, wake up!" said Mr. Kidnapper.

Ms. Kidnapper (whom we now know is called _Alarms. _Nice name, but I still think_ Lazybones_ would've been better) woke up and immediately went up to her feet. This, obviously, made her bang her head on the roof.

"Ow!" she shouted as she crouched on the ground with her hand on her head.

"Gosh, what is it, Above?! Do you have any idea how exhausted I am!? Can't it wait!?" Alarms shrieked.

"No, it can't wait; and yes, I do know how exhausted you are," Above said, calmly as ever.

"You sure don't act like it," I heard Alarms whisper.

"Get yourself ready," Above said as he turned around to face her, "We're entering Phoenix."

I felt Silvers mouth drop, so, of course, that meant _our _mouth dropped.

So…there you have it.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh! I sense danger in Phoenix! **

**Wow, Wanda gets really mad if you talk bad about Ian, doesn't she? Notice how she didn't say sorry? That's my Wanda! **

**Please R & R and I'll update sooner on the Phoenix drama! **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Last time I checked, I wasn't Stephenie Meyer. So yeah...you just have my word to believe. AND my word is the most honest person you'll ever meet, so you know you can believe in him! Wait, what did I just say...? **

* * *

_Rivers Soothing POV_

_This is going much harder than I had imagined, _I thought as my alarm rung.

The bright red numbers indicated it was 5 in the morning. I've always been waking up at 5 and sleeping at 12. That gave me 5 hours of sleep. And I was mostly having nightmares, so it was practically 0 hours of sleep.

Lucky me.

I did the annoyingly repetitive routine I had every morning since the new tracking bracelet idea was installed: wake up, shower, eat, go to Facility, and then the whole fun cycle repeats!

I was currently standing in my shower with my hand against the wall, trying so hard to stay awake. My mind was wandering around. I thought about the dream I had been seeing only moments ago. It wasn't exactly a bad one--no, wait, it was a bad dream. But it was the last memory I had of Silver Flames, so I guess it was half-good and half-bad.

People were screaming and running--hiding and flying. The seekers had come to find us and exterminate us. And why _us? _Because unfortunately… we suck. Yep, that was the reason.

Anyway, I remember Silvers and I were sitting by the river, talking and all. We heard them coming and so we ran. I remember…that she was scared. That _I _was scared. We had no time; they were coming! And so Silvers made a stupid decision as always: she _saved _me.

I don't exactly remember how she saved me, but I know that when I woke up, I was in the Singing World. I wasn't dead; I still had my memories. But I never knew what happened to Silver Flames.

The cold water running snapped me out of my thoughts. _Oh, God! I fell asleep in the __**shower! **_I screamed to myself as I rushed out and dressed in a haze. I threw myself at the car seat and slammed the door shut. In goes the key, and we're off.

This car was as automatic as the rest, so it meant I didn't have to drive. I relaxed back in my seat and snickered.

_I was thinking about Silvers again…Gosh, that woman has put me through a truck-load of trouble lately. _

I thought to myself of all the crap I'd been through in trying to find her. I've already visited 12 planets and actually revisited some, just to check if she was there.

And as you might already know, she wasn't.

I even had to take a soul out of a body to get to this _beloved _position of Head Seeker. As for the old Head Seeker, he's dancing somewhere in the Flower World. As for how _I _got in here, a friend of mine owed me a favor.

And how exactly did that friend manage to keep this switch-the-souls-around thing a secret?

Yep, you guessed right; she's a seeker. A top seeker, actually. She's a lazy-bones kind of girl and her name's Alarms Aloud. Yeah, she took that soul out of Mr. Head Seeker Rodgers and placed _me _inside, making me Mr. Head Seeker Rivers.

The car's sudden stop told me I was at the Facility. I stepped out and took a deep breath, thinking of all the work I'd have to do today.

Inside these _perfect_ double doors, I would be taking a good look at the souls--one at a time--and then I would place the tracing bracelet. I would ask them a few questions--questions that made absolutely no sense, unless it were Silver Flames. I kept getting the same confused look so, obviously, I hadn't found her.

I did the usual swapping-the-all-access-card and then getting a robotic hand shining a light in my face. This time, darkness didn't greet me. Apparently, the souls we were dealing with aren't seeker-built, so we had to turn on the lights.

As well as adding a _whole _other level to our warehouse.

We would always use the most bottom part of the warehouse, and since the lights (past the stairs) were always off, we never really paid attention to all the room we had up there. Yep, we made an entire floor dedicated to the souls' _accommodations. _

I walked to the right and went up the stairs this time. I walked down the very short, narrow, newly-refurbished hallway. The lights were flickering. I stood before the door, where I could hear a bunch of pointless chatter.

I sucked in a breath, and stepped in.

Okay, here was the annoying part of this whole deal (well, mostly _every _part of the deal was annoying. But let's just say this is the _most _annoying). Whenever I step inside that humongous waiting room, the noise always goes dead, everyone looks at their feet, and I feel like _such _a big jerk.

I could deal with this.

I puckered my lips a tiny bit and walked past them, not sparing a glance. There was a window near the right corner of the room. Next to it was the door leading to my "office." I opened my door to find Top-seeker Bridging Across spinning in my chair, while shouting "wee!"

I was at a loss for words; I seemed to always forget that him being a hypnotist was the _only _reason why he wasn't in elementary school. "…Bridging?"

He stopped spinning, "Yeah, Boss?"

I always tried being easy on him. "Do you think you could…give me my chair back?" I said in a high tone.

"Sure, Boss," he said as he hopped off. He was on his way out, when he stopped as if remembering something. He scratched his light brown hair for a minute and thought for a second. _Ugh…remember he's still a kid…Let him think it out…_I silently chanted to my irritation.

"Oh, yeah! Alarms and Above called. They said that they're nearing home base with the remains," Bridging Across said before saluting and leaving.

Huh. Looks like we've almost cleared Arizona. Only more than a billion places to check.

I took a seat at my desk. My office was really…messy. Folders over folders were stacked and a few were scattered. These were folders of all the people inside that waiting room. I opened one at random and opened the door.

"Shadows Hiding Ice," I called out. A man stood up and very slowly made his way to me (And yes, when I said I would check every soul, I meant _every _soul.) He was awfully tall and he was in his late twenties or so. He had sleek black hair and ivory skin. I stepped into my office and asked him to close the door. He did.

I sat down on my chair and opened up his file. _It says he was in insertion only a few days ago. So he's a new soul… _I thought to myself. I looked up to see him standing around, with his eyes glancing around anxiously. _Is he actually looking for an __**exit**__? _

"Please sit down," I said waving the chairs. He glared at me a bit, before he sat down and calmed his expression.

"So, you mind telling me why I'm here?" he said in a gentle tone.

I kept my eyes on his file, "You were in insertion only a few days ago, correct?"

He nodded. "Correct,"

"And am I correct in saying you were placed inside a wild soul? A resister? A human?" I noticed how much his case was interesting me…

He looked a bit wary. "…Yes,"

After that, his eyes went wide with fear. Why, I had no idea. Unless…

My eyes narrowed as I leaned over the table, closer to him. "And are you having any _problems _with this body? You don't have any resistance inside you, am I correct?"

He stayed silent; the fear in his eyes still in place.

"AM I CORRECT!?" I shouted.

His eyes blinked, as if just noticing me. "Um…yes. You're correct."

But his lie was so evident. "I know you're lying. But don't worry, I don't really care if you have a resistant host, or not."

He looked up at me and narrowed his eyes, as if I were the liar.

"No, just answer me one question. All I need is one answer and you can go see your other resistant friends," I said. After all, the only reason I was doing this was to find Silver Flames. When I found her, I would drop everything else.

Shadows Hiding Ice stayed silent, but guarded.

I leaned in again. "What is the name of your resistant host?"

No answer.

"It's not like it'll make a difference if I knew the name. If I really did want you secured, I would've already gotten guards to do the job."

Amazingly, he still looked wary. God, his host was really resistant!

"Why? Why do you want to know?" he asked.

My eyes widened. No soul would dare to ask _me, _the Head Seeker, that, so therefore, I had no answer or story.

"If you tell me why, I'll tell you my resistant host's name. Besides, just like you said, it won't make a difference if I know why, I'll still hate your guts," Shadows Hiding Ice replied.

I chuckled nervously. "That's not exactly how I phrased it…"

He just gave me a blunt look that said _I'm waiting_.

I reclined in my chair and stared at the ceiling. "I'm…searching for someone. She's a really a stupid, idiotic, foolish girl…and I love her. But she ran out of my life--before she saved me, I might add--and I haven't seen her since."

I looked away from the ceiling to face a thoughtful Shadows Hiding Ice. "Huh…that's funny. I'm searching for someone too. I know where she is…but I'm too frightened to face her…"

"Why?" I said, with shock dominating my face.

He looked at me questioningly. I was absolutely furious and envious. "You know where she is…why don't you face her? Why are you scared and what the hell are you even scared of?! That she won't love you; that she'll reject you!?" I was rising my voice too much. I tried to control myself.

"She will reject me," he firmly stated as he looked away. "She'll be terrified of me and hate every single part of me…"

"But at least you'll get a chance to win her back! If you're always near her and if you try to win her back, then at least there's a _chance _that you'll win her!!"

"I have no chance, because she _won't _love me! I know her, and I'll also know that she'll be terrified!! Horrified! Shocked! _Disgusted! Why should I even face her!" _Shadows Hiding said as his face fell into his hands.

He really had it hard. I patted his arm. "At least you know where she is and at least you know she's alive," I said as he looked up at me with narrowed eyes. "I don't even know where my Silvers Flames is. She could be in this city, in this world, in this universe…I don't know. I have no chance. You do."

His eyes were still narrowed. "You don't understand. I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with a parasite. And a _seeker_, of all people," he said as he stood up.

Shadows Hiding pulled on his jacket and was walking to the door, when he suddenly stopped and turned to me. "Oh yeah, I promised I would tell you my resistant host's name, right?"

I noticed at that point that the lights were flickering _way _too much. It made the corner of the room--where the door was located--look _really _dark. It also made Shadows Hiding's blue eyes shine in a weird, scary, it's-from-a-horror-movie way.

"Ian O'Shea," he turned away from me and placed his hand on the knob. "Don't know why you wanted to know his name, but oh well."

Shadows Hiding stepped out of my office, out of the waiting room, and out of the Facility. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his love was in the waiting room, silently sleeping with her friends…

I sighed and placed my business face on. I grabbed a random file and called out the name "Wanderer."

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**A/N:Well, I dropped a bomb, didn't I? And I mean the mental ones, people, I do not do well with explosives (just the mental ones)! **

**Since this is Rivers Soothing POV, I had to keep it at a cold temperature. You know, it has to have the "mean, explain the facts, don't do any jokes" atmosphere. **

**Oh yeah, if I don't update often it's 'cause I've been feeling really crappy lately and 'cause I had the**** worst day in existence yesterday and 'cause I've been tossing and turning over a new idea which will eventually turn into a story that confuses every single person alive, even the author, who I might wanna add, would be _moi. _Woah! How long was that sentence! **

**ANYWAY, hope the cold Rivers Soothing POV wasn't boring. To make it up to ya I updated **_**twice **_**today! Yeah, I am **_**awesome! **_

**Send me reviews over what you thought! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I live in a house. If I were Stephenie Meyer, I'd live in a mansion. Yeaah....my house isn't really that big..****.**

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_Wanda's POV_

So…Phoenix! The city of the boringness and hotness! And when I say _hot, _you _know _I mean the sun is burning me ALIVE and _not _people in sexy bikinis. No, no, the souls _really _changed the society here…

As long as the very-not-alert eyes of Alarms Aloud were watching us, Kyle, Sunny, and I couldn't spill about anything.

After Above (a.k.a. Mr. Kidnapper) had stopped the van to our designated destination (ha. It kind of sounds like a song. DESIGNATED DESTINATION! YEAH! _Hang on, this is no time for jokes, Wanda! _Silver Flames shrieked at me. _Sir! Yes, sir! _I replied_). _

We were released from the van and had to step into this weird warehouse that apparently likes to shine a light into people's eyeballs. I know the light was only shined onto Above's and Alarms' eyes, but believe it or not, they still have _eyeballs._

Then we had to walk up all these stairs and then had to sit inside a boring waiting room full of other helpless victims. Alarms and Aloud had other business to attend to, so _now _we could spill.

"Why are you here?" I whispered as soon as they were out of sight.

Sunny stared at me with fear dominating her expression. "Kyle and I were on a raid. We weren't really on a raid, though; that was just an excuse so we could look for you."

I groaned when she said that part. "And you got caught."

She nodded. "Now it's your turn. Spill!"

I looked around suspiciously. Then I faced both Kyle and Sunny who had a curious look on their faces. "We were also searching for someone, but we had to rest in a hotel. I heard those seekers coming and I told Lily and Melanie to hide under the beds. I was the only one caught, but I told Lily and Melanie to go back to the Resistance," I whispered in a rush.

"And who were you--" Sunny started before getting elbowed slightly by Kyle. She looked up at him and he shook his head at her.

But unfortunately for them, I already got the message. Ugh, why did I have to be _such _a good mind reader? (Now, don't get me wrong, I hear no other voices inside my head besides Silver Flames and my own. I'm just good at reading people, like I always say. )

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"Shadows Hiding," a cold voice called from the doomsday door. He had been calling weird names ever since we got here, but never our names.

And about the doomsday door, I called it that because every time people would go in, and when they come out, they have some kind of metal thing around their wrist and they look a little shocked. But sometimes they don't come out with a metal wrist attachee`. Weird.

_Gosh, when was the last time I went to sleep? _I thought to myself as I reclined in my chair and looked around.

Sunny was sleeping in her chair---despite her complaints of not being able to last in a chair for long---with her head lying on Kyle's shoulder. Kyle was also asleep, with his face all anxious looking.

I felt uneasy and so did Silver Flames. We just wanted to get out of here and run away, maybe search some more. Well, _I _wanted to search some more. Apparently, Silvers never loved Mr. Rivers Soothing.

_I did love him! _she immediately shouted. _But he __**left **__me to __**die. He doesn't love me anymore, **_she said, all the while fighting to stay strong.

_Sorry about that. I just really wish you'd chase after him _I thought silently.

_Why? _

_Because if I end up sad and lonely, at least I'll know all my friends will be happy. _

…_You won't be alone. Have you forgotten about your baby? _

I stroked my bigger than average belly. I'd say my baby was 6-7 months along. Amazingly, whenever I would run, he'd never slow me down. That's my champion baby! _Of course I haven't forgotten about my baby. But, eventually, even he will leave me. _

_What about Ian? Have you forgotten about him? And his promise, I mean, _Silvers quickly added before I would get pissed off at her stupid question.

_His promise…_I thought silently to myself. I heard the door opening and someone walked out. I was always hearing that and yet it reminded me of Ian…I'm thinking too much.

But he really did promise he'd come back. He _promised _me. Ian never breaks his promises…Never. I stood up and ran to the door that led to my escape. Another soul was just about to walk out of it. The most recent one. _He was really tall, maybe I could hide behind him! Yeah, just tell him your story, maybe he'll help! _

I was inches away from his hand when another door opening halted my steps. I snatched my hand back, before my beloved escape door slammed it. It did slammed, but not my hand.

I heard the cold voice say "Wanderer," the second my would-be escape door closed.

For some reason, my hopes and dreams literally disappeared. But why? if that soul had just _left _like that after speaking to Mr. Cold Voice, then I should be able to do it, too.

And yet, my hopes and dreams _didn't _come back.

I turned around slowly. Mr. Cold Voice himself was staring at me with a peculiar expression. He cocked his head at me and narrowed his eyes, "And where do you think you would be going, Miss. Wanderer? You're not thinking of _escaping _are you?

I cracked a smile, "Of course not, Mr. Cold Voice." Did I just say that out loud? Whoops.

"Cold voice?" He looked a little ticked off. He set down one of those business files on his wooden table which, I might add, looks like it seriously needs some dusting.

He slowly made his way to me with that amused/angry face. _Amuse_ was the boss right now, but I could tell _angry _was also doing some work.

Now that I looked at him, I noticed he was kind of tall. Well, everyone looked tall to me. He wasn't taller than Ian, though. He had a gray suit and a blue tie. His navy hair was looking a little messy.

He halted in front of me and narrowed his eyes again. "For your information, missy, I am the Head Seeker of the Facility--the place where all wild, misbehaved souls should fear. My name is River Soothing and I could have you disposed of, if you get on my nerves."

_Rivers!? Is that really you!? _Silver Flames shrieked in my mind.

I think half of me just fainted. The other half was still in the shock mode.

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**A/N: Have you ever wondered how it feels like when only **_**half **_**of you faints? Heh, heh, maybe you should ask Wanda how it feels. She's still in shock, so we currently get no answer. **

**IMPORTANT NEWSFLASH! So Rivers Soothing's name will be changed, from now on, to **_**Mr. Cold Voice. **_**People might be gaping at their computers, all the while thinking **_**"No way, Twi-Hoster Girl! Are you seriously gonna change his name!?" **_**For those who are gaping, the answer is no. I ain't changing his name. For those who are snickering or rolling your eyes, I can read your mind; you're thinking " I already knew that." **

**Well I bet you won't "already know" what's gonna happen next. Next chapter might be a little sad. I'm just saying. **

**You know the code by now; if you wanna know what happens next, you might wanna review…**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Ugh, I just want to go to SLEEP! I'm too lazy to write down the fact that I'm not Stephenie Meyer & that I don't own the Host!!

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You know, it's kind of hard to _walk _when half of you has just _fainted. _But I'm sure you already knew that.

I slowly made my way to my bitter demise, also known as the Head Seeker's office. The office was a little stuffy; the lights were flickering and there were papers scattered everywhere. The door's sudden close, I admit, scared me.

"Please take a seat, Miss. Wanderer," River Soothing said as he walked towards his chair on the other side of the table.

I sat down on one of those blue seats with wooden arms. I held on to the wooden arms for dear life. Honestly, this felt like something from a horror movie; I felt like something out of this world might come out of the dark corners and drag me to hell.

"So…" I started. "Why was I dragged out of my comfy bed to this horror office, again?"

His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "I don't believe you will be the one with the questions, Miss. All I need are a few answers from you; if you answer them incorrectly, you will be free to go."

This felt a little like opposite day. I squeezed the wooden arm chairs again. "And if I answer them correctly?" I asked nervously.

"I said you don't get to ask any questions," Head River's said as he glanced once more at my profile. Then he looked up at me with an amused expression.

This guy was kind of creeping me out. "Uh…can the questioning begin now?" I said.

"Yes…You're file is very strange…" he started out.

_Uh, oh, _I thought.

He spun a bit in his chair. "It says that the former occupant of your host was named Petals Open To the Moon….It says that she had skipped this host, and yet there is no record of her being taken out."

I was shivering down to my socks. _How does he know all this!? Is it possible that they had gotten a hold of Petals Open To the Moon? No, she should be on her way to the flower planet. But that was nearly a year ago… _

It felt a little weird when no one answered me. I guess Silver Flames was still in shock mode 'cause I could still feel her inside my head, but she wasn't answering.

"We tracked her down, because this was much too confusing. Apparently, she had a friend take her out. Why she wouldn't go ask a Healer; she wouldn't say," he said and then smirked a bit. "She probably had a resistant host and was too embarrassed to ask. Anyway, that isn't what really bothers me. What bothers me is…that there is no record of _you _being placed inside of her."

Bulls eye. And just for your information, I was not the one who hit the bulls eye.

I moved my hands from the chair arms to my pants. I said nothing. I could feel his indigo eyes watching me.

"So…you mind telling me how you were placed inside of her body?"

"A friend. It was a friend who placed me in," I said immediately. It wasn't really a lie; I considered Doc a good friend. But I could tell that wasn't what he meant to ask.

He set the file down and kept his eyes on me, making me even more nervous. He was about to ask that, I could see…But then his mind moved elsewhere. "So Miss. Wanderer, how long have you been in your host?"

"About a year."

"Hmm…And how many planets have you visited?"

"…Eight," I slowly said. I really did visit only eight planets…and yet it sounded like a lie.

He knew. His eyes widened ever so slightly. "Why are you lying to me?"

"…I'm not lying to you," I said, meanwhile my eyes were wandering around the room, uneasily.

He sighed. "Have you ever been to the Fire World?"

"…No." Another weird-sounding lie.

He was leaning slightly across the table now. "Do you know the name Valkyrians? Do you know who they are?"

My eyes were widening now. "…No," I repeated.

He was leaning more. I could tell he was close to getting what he was looking for, but what? I wasn't giving any information!! God, I'm so confused! I'm lying to him, but I don't even know what I'm lying _about._

"Do you know someone by the name of Silver Flames? Can you…Can you hear her? Are you her?" he quickly asked, his eyes wide and anxious.

Now, I was way past scared or freaked. I was completely horrified. _Who really was this man and why is he asking me this!? Does he know she's in my mind? Does he know!? _

It was amazing that I was able to utter an answer. A lie, but it was still an answer. "…I…have no idea what you're talking about…"

His eyes were as wide as can go and he was slightly gaping. He stood up quickly and backed away from me slightly. "It can't be…" he whispered.

_What's going on!!? _I screamed as I slammed my hands on my temples. I think I was getting a headache from all this confusion. _Someone tell me what is going on!! _My face fell in my hands and I was so close to either crying or falling apart.

"Silver Flames…" I heard him whisper, "Is that you?"

I think that was when the me-half fainted. So we were all together now. And I think Rivers Soothing caught me before I fainted.

I think.

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**A/N: I have 3 months of boringness & hotness to bear. It's a little something called "summer break." And so, that means I might be updating more often. Yay for you, but more typing for me. We win some; we lose some.**

**Anyway, next chappie might be a little different. I think it might be long, sad, & shocking. I think. **

**Shower me with reviews and I can guarantee the next chappie will be AWESOME. **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I actually wrote this late, late at night. My niece was keeping me awake because she WOULDN'T stop laughing and when I told her to stop laughing, she would start crying. So yeah...I haven't been sleeping at all. I'm sorry if I wrote down that I'm sleepy, too much. **

**Anyway, I actually really worked hard on this chapter, like, usually the idea just pops into my head && I write, and I usually end up hating the chapter, despite all the reviews. It's something to do with being an artist; you hate your own work (it's cause we only see the mistakes.) I actually liked this chapter. **

**Hope you like it too!

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I fluttered my eyes open. I raised my hand to my temple; why did my head hurt so much? Oh yeah, I fainted and fell.

And more importantly, where was I?

I sat up and looked around. I was sitting on one of those jade green recliners that are usually found in therapists' offices. Actually, not only did this recliner felt like it belonged in a therapists' office, this whole room _looked _like a therapist's office.

"Oh. You're awake," I heard a muffled voice say. I immediately turned to the source of the voice. He was sitting lazily in his chair, a few feet from me---Head Seeker Rivers Soothing. Head _Seeker. _

My eyes narrowed and my hands clenched. "What happened, why am I here, and why are you here with me? Answer those questions."

Rivers had his head propped lazily on his elbow and he was staring at me with sleepy eyes. Was it just me, or were all the seekers sleepy now-a-days?

"You fainted," he answered, as he blinked…slowly.

"I know," I said, as my eyebrows crumpled a bit.

"And you're here because you fainted."

I was getting a little frustrated. "I already know I fainted. I _mean _where am I and why?"

"You're in my apartment and you're here, again, because you fainted. And I couldn't just leave you in my office," he said, as if the answer was so obvious.

"What about my friends?" I asked firmly. The firmness, amazingly, hid the anxiousness I was feeling right now.

"I set them free," he said with his face still on his elbow and his eyes still closed.

Of course, he couldn't see my gawking, but he must've already known. I couldn't even voice the question as to why.

He opened his indigo eyes. "Why, you ask? Because I found what I was looking for; I don't care about the rest," he said as he looked away.

I felt a little nervous; I shifted on my recliner (but if I was sitting on it, would it still be called a recliner?). "…Does that mean I gave you the correct answers?" I asked quietly.

He turned to look at me and gave me this big smile; "Yeah. You gave me the right answers."

I gulped. "So…now what?"

"Now I don't let you out of my sight and wait for your memory to return," he said with humiliating obviousness.

"My memory to return?" I asked as I shifted closer to him.

"Yeah. You're clearly confused and you don't seem to respond the way I thought you would…" he said with that observing-glance. "I know that you hate me…but I also know that you don't know why…"

My eyebrows were crumpling. All I knew was that this man used to be Silver Flames' love, that they had been separated, and that she now hated him. But this man seemed to know something about me…something that could answer all my questions!?

I jumped up and pulled him by the shirt collar. "Do you know!? Do you know what it is that I simply _can not remember!? _If you do, then tell me now!!" I screamed.

"I…can't…" he said, as he looked everywhere but me.

"Why not!?" I screamed. "Don't you want your Silver Flames to be free or know how she even got inside my head or…or…"

I gritted my teeth and did my best to not start crying. I was so, so close to losing…

Rivers grabbed my hands and loosened them off his shirt. Then he held my hands…tightly.

"Listen…" he said as he tried to meet my eyes. I knew my eyes were getting watery and I didn't want some stupid seeker noticing. "If I tell you…and I find out you _can't _remember, then that'll be bad news for me!"

He let go of my hands and glanced off remotely. I looked up at him in confusion. "Besides, if I find out you're not her, or that you don't have Silver Flames captive in your mind…I wouldn't want you knowing our terrifying life and how we nearly died…Even if you don't turn us into the other Seekers…," he turned to look at me with a smile, but his eyes were far passed depressed as he said, "…you shouldn't be burdened with such horrifying secrets."

I had a big lump in my throat. _Was you life really so bad, Silver Flames?_ I asked.

No answer.

_Silvers? Are you there? _

I searched for her. She was still in my head, but she was hidden tightly behind the wall. She must've spend quite a bit of time on this wall, because it was impossible to get through. I gave up and returned to the real world.

"So…I just have to wait for my memory to jolt back?" I asked him, just to be sure.

He nodded. "Either yours or hers, I don't know," he said and then gave me one of those big smiles. "But you should know that I'll be following you, from today on."

I almost groaned. "Why!? Wait, wait, wait! I know the answer; I do," I said as I bobbed my head up and down. "You're in love with Silvers, you think I'm her or I have her captured in my mind, and you're also an egotistically annoying seeker. Correct?" I asked as I did the one-eyebrow thing (Mel taught me that!)

He chuckled. "Correct. But I'm not an egotistically annoying seeker; in fact, I hate them. The only reason I got this job was because I wanted to find Silver Flames. I'd need to be looking through masses and masses of both souls and humans just to find her. If I were a seeker, I wouldn't get in trouble for doing that."

I crossed my arms behind my back as I walked out the office. I didn't know where I'd go, but I knew it'd be somewhere. "So that's why all the seekers are tired? Geez…would you seriously check _every _single person, just to see if they were Silvers?" I asked, knowing he'd be right behind me.

"Yeah…wouldn't you?"

I skid to a stop. I turned around to stare at him with wide eyes. He raised an eyebrow at me. _Should I check every single person for…him…? Wait a second…_

"Rivers…you've seen a lot of people…both souls and human a like…" I slowly whispered.

"Yes…" he said, wary of my sudden expression change. "I just checked them and let them go. The tracking bracelet doesn't really work. It's mostly decorative."

I nodded. I looked up at him with a hopeful expression. I was so afraid to hope…but this man might have my answers…If he didn't…, then I'd be crushed.

I'd be crushed.

"So…you wouldn't have happened to see an…Ian O'Shea?"

He hesitated before answering. "Yes…I did see him…"

My hand flew to my heart. I couldn't even say anything; I knew I couldn't. My eyes were frozen wide and my heart may have just stopped. So Rivers filled in the blanks for me.

"…He was the soul I had inspected…just before you…" he said slowly.

_What!? He was __**there **__and I didn't even notice!? _My mind raced back to that day. I remembered my plan of hiding behind the most recent soul…I was inches from reaching him…I was _just _a few inches away…

_Oh my god… _I fell to my knees. After that, the gears in my mind moved a tiny bit.

I slowly looked up at Rivers with a horrified expression. _Please tell me he made a mistake. __**Please **__**tell**__** me he made a mistake! **_

"Did…did you just say…_soul?_" I whispered.

"…Yes…" But before he could add any more heartache, he quickly reassured me. "But he said he had a resistant host!"

"A resistant host…you mean…there's a chance that…Ian's still fighting?" I whispered, on the edge of probably fainting again.

I could tell Rivers was feeling a little anxious. "But you do know there's a chance he won't be able to survive. That soul inside of Ian…he's _strong. _He might subdue him. And he also said he would be leaving soon because he was off to search for someone. And I'm guessing that someone…would be you…"

My eyes widened even more. If that were possible, I'm guessing it was.

"What do you mean?" I quietly asked.

"I mean that we need to get _going _if you want to catch him before he leaves!" Rivers shouted as he yanked me to my feet.

And next thing I knew, we were running down his apartment stairs. He opened the door to a blue Acura and told me to do the same. I did.

As soon as we were in, he pulled out a pair of blue sunglasses and put them on. He had one fingertip to the side of his glasses and started scrolling…

"What're you doing?" I quickly asked.

"Checking my files…" he said, just as rapidly. He gave me a sideways look and noticed my confused expression. "Our technology is much more advanced then you remember…"

"A-ha. 105 Cornell Street," he said as the car started by itself and started…running. Okay, the souls' technology is _much _more advanced. "Apartment complex 11567. We need to get there _rapidly." _

The car shifted gears and the speedometer was nearing the red zone. It made turn after turn, and I held onto my seatbelt tightly. Amazingly, no one pulled us over as we neared our destination. A large light blue apartment complex. It was the same one that I used to live in.

I undid my seatbelt as I asked "Which number?"

"3," he answered, while stepping out. Of course, it had to be my old number.

I ran to my old apartment and tried the door. Locked. I knew that.

And so, I started pounding on the door, with all the tiny might I had. Rivers caught up and placed his hand over mine, while he said "Allow me."

He stuck a black key through the key slot. "Universal key. It makes breaking in easy for us. For seekers only," he said as the door swung open.

I didn't care whether that key could break into every house in the world. It opened the door and I ran through it.

"IAN!!!!!!" I screamed. And then I got a good look at the place…It looked so…

Empty.

I ran through the single bedroom. Empty. I opened the bathroom. Empty. I raided the closets. Empty. Kitchen; empty. Living room; empty. My heart…

Gone…and hollow.

I collapsed. But, no, I didn't faint. I was just lying there on the floor that Ian used to stand on.

_There's a chance he won't survive…And if I don't find him…, then he __**won't **__survive! But now he was gone! He could be anywhere on this planet! _

It was strange that those thoughts didn't make me feel anything. Nothing. I was gone.

I couldn't hear, feel, or see anything. Well, I could see the carpet. I felt my tears slowly seeping. I heard River's shouting. But I didn't comprehend anything. I didn't understand what was going on.

I had angered a God, hadn't I? Because just then, the wall inside my mind had been _obliterated . I saw what Silver Flames was thinking…I saw it __**all. **_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

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**A/N: DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD, WHAT'S GOING ON!! WHAT'S GOING ON!? **

**Well, don't ask me. I'm just the author. The only thing I know is this::**

**--River's sunglasses. I so need to get those!! It kinda works like GPS. Well, that's what it's mostly used for. But River's managed to get all his private information on to it. Yep, he's a genius. The glasses are available to the public.**

**--The Universal Key. Now…, I'm pretty sure EVERYONE wants this key. Sorry, Seekers only.**

**Anyway, that's all I can say. I AM SOOOOOOOOOO tired so if you sent me a ton of reviews, I might get off my lazy a** and start writing again. Seriously, I'm **_**unbelievably **_**exhausted, and reviews actually do keep me going. **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I don't feel like I need to tell people I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I mean, who wouldn't want to be Stephenie Meyer!? Why should the disclaimer always need to say I'm not Stephenie Meyer, when I clearly want to _be _Stephenie Meyer!? I guess "want" and "are" are two COMPLETELY different things in the dictionary! Aw, now I just gave you another rant about something stupid again!! Sorry and continue reading!!!**

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_What's…happening? _I thought to myself as visions among visions filled my head. Bright colors, many bright colors.

I remember screaming in pain as the visions took such…_force. _And that's all. All I could do was focus on those visions…

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_**I love him. I know I do**__, I thought to myself as I hopped. I was hopping on the yellow grass of the Fire Planet with my left red wing out and my right arm outstretched._

_I always felt so happy now and I knew it was all thanks to Rivers. He's just so kind and affectionate; I can't believe it's only been 4 months since I met him! It feels more like years…_

_My hopping was paused when I noticed Marry Madams sitting on one of those red anemones. She was old and…scary. She had faded orange hair, a lazy eye, and she always had a small, toothless, open-mouth smile on her face. _

_People were always scared of her, but I respected her so. She's lived 44 years in her Valkyrian body and amazingly…she's still __**alive. **__Most people live a few days in their bodies and then skip. Why they skip is so obvious. _

_Valkyrians were hostile and resistant. I looked away from Marry Madams and started walking instead of hopping._

_They're the most resistant hosts we've ever met. The Valkyrians would take over our minds and…drive us insane. Literally. I get the goose bumps just thinking about it. The seekers never knew how strong they were, and we were too afraid to tell them. But we kept skipping and skipping the Valkyrians until it drew the seekers' eye._

_And indeed it did. The seekers are here now, but they've come in human bodies. I have no idea how the human bodies survive on this planet; maybe we're more alike than I thought. _

_Anyway, the seekers are getting annoyingly persistant, but we dare not tell them anything. We would never tell those vile seekers anything._

_I was standing in front of my little house. It was made out of bricks and it was nice and sturdy. Rivers' had moved in with me a while ago…Come to think of it, where is Rivers? _

_I opened the door, "Rivers, are you here?" I asked. _

_All of a sudden, I was thrown to the wall with someone's hand tight around my neck. It was a strong, firm hand…I recognized this hand._

_I opened my eyes and they nearly popped. The person before me chuckled. "Shocked, my dear Silvers?" said the voice of Rivers Soothing. _

_I couldn't say anything. Partly because I couldn't believe anything that was happening, and partly because his hand was pretty tight around my neck. _

_**What's going on? I don't know, but I do know that I don't want to die…and especially not by the hands of a traitor!! **__I screamed as my right foot flew up and hit him---bang!---right in the crotch. _

_He let go of me and started cussing and wheezing. It was at that moment that I noticed a few other people in the room; humans---seekers._

"_You bastards!! What did you do to him!?" I screamed as I knocked the lights out of the closest seeker to me. _

"_Miss, please calm down!" one of them shouted--a young girl with red short hair. _

"_Yes, you're race is out of control and you didn't even tell us!" said a man who was __**losing**__ his hair. _

"_Shut up, you stupid baldy!" I screamed at the man as I punched him in the face. _

_The young girl looked frightened; she was the only one left. I opened my wings and flew to her. I pulled her up to me by the neck and gave her with the most furious look I could manage. _

"_What…the fuck…is going…on?" I slowly said through my clenched teeth. _

_She closed her eyes tightly as she whispered, "We were…We were…"_

"_You were what!?" I shouted as I shook her. _

"_Experimenting! You wouldn't tell us the problem so we went in ourselves!" she shouted as she looked me dead in the face. She was looking cocky now, as she gestured to Rivers, who was slowly getting over his crotch attack. _

"_Head Seeker Above All is currently in his body and couldn't control it. Your beloved Rivers Soothing is right there," she said as she nodded to a cryotank with a glowing red light. _

_I then threw her to the wall, where she gave quite a disgraceful landing. Whoops, I forgot how breakable humans are._

_I ran over to where Rivers was currently hibernating and glanced anxiously at his tank for a moment. _

"_Hey, little miss! You know you're gonna pay for that!" shrieked the Head Seeker, pulling me out of my thoughts. I pulled Rivers off the counter and jumped in the air, barely missing the seeker's flying kick. _

"_Where do you think---" he started before I gave him a backwards kick. He may have been a seeker, but I've been in this body longer and I knew how to control it. _

"_See you later, Mr. Top Seeker," I said as I ran out of there. When I ran out of the house, I froze in shock. _

"_AHHH!" screamed a neighbor as he was about to jump into the sky, that is, before he fell flat on the ground. Seekers. They carried frightening weapons and had killed him with a single bullet. _

_I looked around in horror and noticed that __**everyone **__was screaming. The trees were burned to the ground, so hardly any hiding spots were available. My family ran and ran, but the seekers kept shooting and shooting. _

_It was a nightmare. And I was actually in it. _

_I started running, with Rivers' tank held closely to my chest. I knew the seekers must've spotted me by now, but I just kept running. And for the first time, I did something I never did in my entire life._

_I prayed. _

_I prayed to God; I didn't know if he existed, but if he truly did, then he would grant me this wish. I prayed that we would make it--Rivers and me--but if we didn't, then at least let Rivers live. Please, God, __**please**__._

_Next thing I knew, I was running through a field of human-sized red anemone. I heard their screaming--both my families' and the seekers'--but I kept running. I heard the shots of the weapon that the seekers fired, but it never reached me. _

_I made it out of the anemone and froze to a stop. I was at a cliff top and the sight was completely… horrendous. I turned around and heard them running through the anemone. _

_**I don't know what to do anymore, **__I thought as I held Rivers' closer to me. If I stay down, they'll kill me; If I fly down, they'll still kill me. I know I can't survive; I __**know**__ I can't. But…can't I find a way for Rivers' to stay alive? _

_I gasped and then I jumped off the cliff. I didn't open my wings, so I couldn't be a bright target. I rolled onto the soft grass that, amazingly, was hurting me. __**Deal with the pain; you have a mission to do, **__I thought as I jumped to my feet. I started running again; Oh, God, if I ever do live again, please don't put me through all this running again. _

_Finally, I looked up and saw my sparkle of hope. I slammed the doors open and ran through the room with the shuttles. All the seekers were out killing my family, so none were in here---in the shipping area. I randomly opened the doors to a shuttle and placed Rivers inside. And then…I waited._

_I put one hand on Rivers' tank and caressed it gently. Tears streaked down my face as I whispered my last words to him, "I'm sorry, Rivers…I'm sorry all of this happened and I know you'll be mad at me when you wake up, but…" I tried to swallow the lump in my throat; it wouldn't go away. _

"_..You know I love you," I said with a tiny smile. My voice started shaking, "I'll always love you. So please…don't get mad at me if I die…, because you should know that I died for you. Yep, only for you." _

_I lightly kissed his tank before I shut the doors. I heard the doors to the warehouse opening and I heard them shouting, "She's here! The last one!" _

_Instead of running away, like a smart girl, I walked towards them, like a stupid girl; I even had a light smile on my face. When I caught sight of them I raised my hands and said in a light voice, "Okay,…you can take me away now."_

_And that was when the bullets were fired._

_

* * *

_

"CLEAR!!" shouted a male voice as a violent shock ran through my body. Strangely, it didn't really felt bad.

"No response," said a young female. She had a familiar voice...but from whom?

I heard the pads shuffling before the male voice repeated, "CLEAR!!" The violent shock made its course again. Ow.

I heard a faint beeping as the female voice ecstatically said, "She's responding!"

"Wanda!" I heard a familiar voice say. Rivers.

_Sure, just ask about her. No, no, don't even worry about me, _I heard Silvers faintly say.

All of a sudden, the horrible nightmare played again--in fast-forward, though. _Silvers…_I thought compassionately.

She got a little anxious for a second…and then she chuckled. _So…looks like the walls are down. _

I felt my hands tighten and my eyes were getting teary, even if they were closed. _Silvers…I can't believe that happened to you. I'm so,…so sorry. But you got what you prayed for; it came true! Rivers is alive and you are too---somewhat alive. But…_

_But what? _she asked.

_..Do you have any idea how you got inside my head? _

_Wanda…can we leave that for later? _

I was taken aback. _Why?_

_Wanda, _she said with a tone of obviousness, _You nearly died, in shock, just because you saw my nightmare of the seekers. _

My eyebrows crumpled, _But I'm still alive! Just tell me; I can take it!_

_Um…_

"Wanda…, please open your eyes," said a worried Rivers.

I let out a breath. I slowly opened my eyes. The bright light was the first thing I saw…and the next thing I saw…

My jaw dropped as I continued to stare at the nurse standing before me.

"Ah, Miss. Wanderer, you're awake! You gave us quite a scare there, especially for your friend," said the smiling nurse as she gestured to Rivers who was, presumably, sitting beside me.

But I didn't even turn towards Rivers.

_What the… Silvers? _I asked.

…_Yeah, Wanda? _She replied nervously and equally as confused as I was.

_Are you seeing what I'm seeing? _

_I think I am…It's like a mirror…_Silvers said faintly.

Yep, this was a real mirror. The nurse standing before me had red long hair and green bright eyes.

She looked like an exact reincarnation of Silvers.

* * *

**A/N: Gosh, the memory part of this chapter made me cry! I was listening to Slipping Through My Fingers (Meryl Streep version!) while writing this, so double the tears.**

**I kinda spilled the beans on this one. Well, kinda. I'm sure some people are still confused. Well, not to worry because you will soon be unconfused! **

**I think this story may be coming to an end soon…Now, hey, it's just a thought! I still have a little longer left to go!! Like, maybe 6 more chapters, but I'm not sure…**

**So what'd you think? Please tell me, I really want to know!! **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Ugh, I'm tired of drama. I'm sure if I were Stephenie Meyer I wouldn't have drama. Unfortunately, I'm not. So, welcome the drama. And I don't own the Host either. Now, I'm even more sad.**

**

* * *

**

I just closed my eyes again after seeing an almost-double Silvers.

I didn't really know what was going on; I just knew I was fed up with all this confusion, all these mysteries. And just like Silvers' said; I _had _to have my answers. I really, really did. She said she knew how she had gotten inside my head and now, she was going to tell me.

But if she didn't tell me, I could always just read her mind. Yeah, let's go with that.

Boy, was she a resister. She must really want to keep it a secret because she was really putting a fight. I didn't care; I won anyway. I would see the answers myself.

I made a gagging sound as the visions commence hit me again, but this time I controlled myself.

* * *

_I was lying on something stable. How did I know that I was on a stable surface? I wasn't supposed to __**know **__anything in death. I most certainly should not feel pain __**all **__over me and I most certainly should not be able to see anything. Period. _

_And yet I did. I saw a light green room with bright white lights--a hospital room. There were many humans in the room, arguing with one another. The last time I saw humans, they were my enemies and they had…killed me._

_My fingers gripped the edges of the cot I was lying on. But I stayed still, so I could hear their argument._

"_It would be such a waste…" said a young man with black hair and glasses. He looked Chinese._

"_I mean, she is the last one…" said an older man with thinning hair._

"_No, it's cruel! It's unjust!" shouted a woman with long pretty black hair. She seemed to be frightened of them, but I couldn't see her face because she was standing with her back to me. And yet, how her arms were outstretched, blocking the others from my view, it seemed as though she was __**protecting **__me. _

_Now, why would I come to such a silly conclusion? _

"_We must know the answers…" said another female with light brown hair, as she tried to approach me. _

_The woman with red hair screamed, "Back off! This would be torture! Can't we help her anyway!?" Miss. Red Hair seemed to be alone on this. _

_The brown-haired woman smiled sightly, "I suppose we can. Why don't we simply extract the information we need and then…" _

"_Then kill her!?" screamed Miss. Red Hair ferociously. "Now, why in the hell would I let you do that!?" she roared. _

_Miss. Brown Hair's eyebrows crumpled infinitesimally. "We must get what we need! There is no other option!" she hissed at Miss. Red Hair. _

"_Hang on," interrupted the Chinese-Glasses man. "What if we erase her memory and send her to a fragile planet? That way, this soul will not be wasted." _

"_But then, all this souls' precious memories will be gone!" shouted Miss. Brown Hair as she put a horrified expression. _

_That made her receive a glare from Miss. Red Hair. "I mean, the ones before the Valkyrian incident," she said as she waved her hands in surrender._

_Miss. Red Hair sighed deeply. "Fine.. Just don't hurt the soul. She's seen many lives; she is vital." And with that, she stepped to the side. _

_She leaned against the wall and folded her arms as she met my spaced look. Her eyes softened as she looked only at me. "Send her to the new planet--the one with the See Weeds. She will find peace there. Rename her, as well. We can't let her remember anything. She will return to being the same person; it will be as if she never lived on the Fire Planet." _

_For some reason, I wasn't able to voice anything; those seekers must've drugged me. My eyes could move, but that was it. I turned towards the humanoid seekers with their monstrous glances. "Now, my dear," said the female seeker with the light brown hair. _

_She walked up to me and placed her hand on my cheek; I just looked at the hand in horror. "We're going to be doing a few experiments, but not to worry, it won't hurt a bit," she said with a bright smile._

_What a lie. I squeezed my eyes tight, as I trembled in fear. __**Oh, Rivers…Where are you? **_

_And then everything, everything, faded to black._

_

* * *

_

I slowly opened my saddened eyes. _So then, you had turned too human…, and they had you erased. _

_At least they didn't kill me, _Silver Flames thought desolately. _I mean, I can never be with Rivers again, but at least I can see him. He won't ever see me, though… I was becoming too human; I guess this is my punishment_

I was absolutely horrified.

"_No…NO!" _I shouted both to Silvers and to everyone. Rivers woke up in alarm; I hadn't realized he had gone to sleep. He glanced at me frantically and called out my name. The nurse that looked like Silver Flames rushed to me.

My face fell into my hands. I gripped my face tightly. _NO! Don't you ever believe that! I will get you out; you hear me!? I WILL GET YOU OUT!! _

_But how Wanda? We're literally the same soul; we've just seen different times. While I slept in my hibernating state, you slowly became different from me. You went to Earth and became human; I simply slept, and started forgetting my humanoid past. But technically, we're the same person--the same soul! How do can you split a soul? _Silver Flames thought hopelessly.

_I DON'T CARE! Melanie suffered while she was my prisoner. I will not have you suffer for such a stupid reason! I don't care what I do; I __**will **__set you free! _

I could feel Rivers shaking me, now. "WANDA!" he shouted over and over.

And that's when a brilliant idea came to me.

I opened my eyes and faced Rivers and Miss. Nurse. I looked around frantically, searching for what I needed--a cabinet and an exit. Good.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I took one hand and whacked the back of Rivers' neck, causing him to lose consciousness. I did the same to Miss. Nurse, with the same result.

Now, I had to put my speedy skills to some use. I combed through Rivers' pockets and found his car keys. I pushed the "find" button to the control of the car.

Then I flung myself to the cabinets and found a black backpack. I quickly filled it with little white aerosol cans that read "ASLEEP." I also got other cans and pumps that read "CLEAN" and "NO PAIN." I pulled on the backpack and ran over to the unconscious Rivers and Nurse.

I put my muscles to the test as I wrapped Rivers' arm around my shoulder and Miss. Nurse's arm around my other shoulder. Ugh, I was starting to feel the pressure and I hadn't even moved yet. No time to waste.

I took step after step and made it to the emergency exit, while half-dragging Miss. Nurse and Rivers. I kicked the door open.

Of course, this made the alarm sound.

It was night and I was in the parking lot. I tapped my foot nervously, and I was soon awarded when I saw a blue Acura speeding along the parking lot. It swerved and parked in front of me, with the driver's door open. Well, would you fancy that?

No time to fancy! I threw Rivers and Miss. Nurse into the back as I got into the driver's seat. I put the keys in the slot and said to the Acura, "Head southwest--towards Tucson, Arizona. Halt the car in an hour. Hurry!"

"Yes, Ma'am," replied a robotic kinda-female voice. The car tires screeched and off we went into the night.

I pulled the backpack off and took out one of the aerosol cans; I placed it next to me. I turned to look at Rivers and Miss. Nurse. I wasn't really worried about Rivers waking up; he's not like other souls. And so I hid him in the back.

It was the nurse that I was worried about. Would she kill herself before we even get there? That was why I had the can of Asleep ready. I also had her right next to me in the car. But Melanie had shown me that trick and she had told me it would knock you out for about an hour and a half. Now, all I could do was wait.

I crossed my arms and leaned in my seat. It was at that point that Silvers finally got over the shock of what I had just done and started talking again.

_Wanda? _she whispered. _What did you just do!? What're you __**thinking!? **_she shrieked more loudly.

_I told you I'd get you out no matter what, didn't I? _I said abstractedly as I watched the stars through the windshield.

_Get me out!? _Silvers shrieked. _But how can you take me out yourself!? Someone would have to do it and we don't trust people!_

_We don't trust __**souls**_, I corrected, as I cradled my stomach. My belly was really bulging now; Little Ian would be born any day soon...

_What do you mean? Souls __**are **__the people; there's no one who can help us, _Silvers said confused.

_Well, there is someone. He's a friend of mine and we're gonna pay him a visit. His name is Eustace…but we like to call him Doc…_

_

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_

**A/N: Oooh, what's gonna happen next!? I don't know, but I'll make sure to ask the author. Wait a second, aren't I the author??? Oh, If I haven't been uploading lately, it's 'cause I feel like I don't have that much readers and also, mainly, boy troubles. I go NO farther past that. **

**Anyway, I really like Rivers' Acura. It has a lot of fancy occupations like finding Rivers (actually it's the keys) when he pushes the "find" button. And since Rivers' is a Seeker, his car also has this "search" button, and if he says the name of a soul after pushing the "search" button, then the car will find that certain soul. Cool, huh? **

**R & R people or else I'll drop the story entirely!!! Just kidding; I'll still continue it, but it'll be all crappy if I don't get any reviews! **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:In the end, I decided to make it longer, so I wouldn't hurt your feelings. So I hope you enjoy! Oh yeah, people. You should already know that I'm not Stephenie Meyer...so do I really need to say it?**

* * *

The car's sudden stop shocked me awake. I flung forward in my seat, but my seat belt yanked me back.

"Ow!" I whispered. I looked frantically around to find Rivers and Miss. Nurse still sound asleep. I looked at the wheel and stuttered, "What t-time is it, A-Acura?"

"12:51 A.M., Miss," replied the female robotic voice.

I blinked a few times. "How long have I been here!?" I shouted, but bit my lip. I quickly checked to make sure I hadn't woken up Rivers or Miss. Nurse. I hadn't.

"Only one hour, Miss," replied Acura.

"Oh," I said as I breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, did you just say one hour!" I hissed. "I only have 30 minutes left!"

"I'm sorry, Miss, but may I ask what will happen in 30 minutes?" Acura asked.

"No time! I need to get out of here!" I shouted as I started unbuckling myself. "Wait! Rivers!" I hissed as I turned around to see him.

_It would be hard enough to let Miss. Nurse inside and it might be a challenge to prove to my family that I'm still Wanda…but I know that I can't bring Rivers...I don't think I could lie to my family to keep Rivers' identity as a seeker a secret…_I thought to myself.

_So what!? _screamed Silvers. _You're just going to leave him here!? _

_Exactly. But not here __**here**__. _I said as I started to pull on the backpack.

_Then where __**where!? **_Silvers screamed.

I opened the car door and ran over to the passenger side. I swung the door open and kept turning my head left and right as I pulled Miss. Nurse out of the car. I adjusted Miss. Nurse's arm around my shoulder, when I suddenly leaned back in to the car.

"Acura," I hissed.

"Yes, Ma'am?" replied the robotic voice again.

"I need you to go forward to Tucson. Head towards a semi-empty bed and breakfast; I don't care which one it is, as long as it's half-secluded," I instructed quickly.

"Will that be all?" Acura asked politely.

"Yes; now, hurry!" I shouted as I slammed the door and began running as soon as I heard the tires squeal.

I ran and ran through the empty desert---remembering, all the while, the exact route back to the Resistance. But, I had no idea that Miss. Nurse was so _heavy!_

_Silvers! _I shouted.

_Wanda, don't even ask! _she shouted, clearly reading my mind.

_Were you fat in your previous life!? _I hissed, as I stumbled over a black boulder. Miss. Nurse fell off my shoulder and I got a face full of dirt.

_And who's cruel idea was it for it to be __**hot **__at __**night!? **_I screamed as I spit out the sand. I quickly got up but tripped a bit.

_I should be really thankful that I'm not going through this…_I heard Silvers silently say.

_Hey, if I die, then so do __**you! **_I shouted as I picked up Miss. Nurse.

_Eeek! Than you'd better get going shouldn't you? Hey...isn't that the entrance, right there? _Silvers asked in a voice that made me look up. I was so delighted at the sight of that purple cave, that I started running.

_Wait, wait! _I shouted to myself as I stopped. Instead, I started walking as quietly as I could to the right side of the caves. And that's where I found the secret entrance.

I slipped into the low entrance and landed without grace. I nearly tripped again, but I stayed firm. I looked around awestricken.

It still smelled like too much moisture. It still had that brownish-purplish color on the rocky walls. It still had those holes in the walls, that reminded me of Swiss cheese. I let out a small gasp, as I took it all in. I felt the tears seeping as I thought to myself: _I'm home. _

Looks like I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was. "Who are you? Wanda…, is that you?" replied a familiar voice.

I quickly turned towards the source of the voice, "Doc…" I whispered.

And there he was. My long-time friend Doc was standing in front of me with his faded blond hair and his face full of awe.

"Doc!" I shouted as I dropped Miss. Nurse and ran to him. I threw myself into his arms and started crying quietly.

He was surprised when I threw myself at him, but he still hugged me back. "Wanda," he said in shock. "Where have you been all this time?" he asked me, still shocked.

"I'll tell you later. Oh Doc, it's so good to be home," I said tearfully, as I hugged him harder.

A low moan tore all the happiness away from me. It also drained all the color from my face. I yanked myself away from Doc and ran at the speed of light towards Nurse. I dropped onto my knees and searched through my backpack. I quickly pulled out the Asleep can and sprayed it on her face. She struggled a bit, but eventually she fell asleep again.

I was gasping, when she finally fell asleep. She nearly gave me a heart attack; if she had woken up and killed herself, then there would've been no way to let Silvers live happily and freely.

I slowly turned around; Doc was looking at me with a still shocked expression. The shocking aura slowly faded away, as he gave me a small smile. "You've gotten yourself in trouble; haven't you, Wanda?"

I gave him a tight smile as I stood up. "Doc, I need your help," I said through my teeth.

"Just name it, Wanda," he said as he became the friend I had known before.

* * *

"Cut the soul out of me?" Doc said as he stroked his chin. "Isn't that a song?"

"Doc, I'm being serious!" I shouted from the cot I was sitting on. "There's a part of me that's a soul and there's a part of me that's a human. The human is, of course, me. And the soul is…a friend. There should be a significant difference," I stated for the third time.

"But Wanda…Do you really want me to do this?" he asked quietly as he looked away.

"Of course I do; I know you can do it," I said with a confused expression.

"But what if…what if I fail!?" he shouted as he turned to look at me with a pained expression. "I mean, I _have _cut a soul in half before and the results weren't exactly nice! I've killed enough of your kind; don't make me kill you, too!" he shouted as he backed away from me.

He fell in his chair and his head dropped into his hands. I stepped off my cot and sat beside him. I patted his back as I whispered, "Doc, you're the only one I could trust this with."

"I don't want to kill you," he said in a muffled voice; his face was still in his hands.

"You won't. I know you won't. She is a soul; I am a human. Our insides should be completely different--"

"But, technically you're the same!" he shouted as he faced me. I was taken aback by the anger on his face; Doc was mostly never angry. "You're the same person; you're the same _soul! _I can't do this, Wanda; I can't!!"

"Doc, you need to! I'm running out of _time,_" I said as I shook his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Wanda. But I can't. I can't!!"

"Yes, you can," we heard a new voice quietly say. We both turned around to find Melanie standing in the doorway. She looked exactly the same as before; she still had the watchful look on her face. "We'll help you," she said as she stepped in.

She was followed by a short girl with curly black hair. Sunny. "We'll ask questions later, Wanda. You're clearly in a hurry," Sunny whispered to me.

"And according to my eavesdropping, you're clearly still the same Wanda," Melanie said with a big smile.

"Melanie," I whispered in awe. I was a second away from running to her and hugging her. And she knew it.

Her smile was quickly replaced by a frown, "Save the kissy-kissy-make-up time for later. We've got to get you out of a real mess, don't we?"

I nodded as I wiped my tears. "I'm sorry."

"Same old Wanda," Melanie said as she ruffled up my hair. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop saying sorry?"

"Oh, about 100 more times," I said with a wide smile on my face.

"I really thought you would never come back, Wanda. Looks like I was wrong," Melanie said.

I gasped jokingly. "The great Melanie admits she's wrong!? Ah, I must be seeing things! Doc, something crazy's going on; do you see it!?" I said as I turned to see Doc.

He still had that troubled look on his face. Melanie saw it. "Doc, we're going to do this and we're going to like it, okay? End of story, no buts." Melanie said as she looked through my backpack.

I snickered quietly. "Something funny?" Melanie asked tightly.

"No buts," I repeated her words and chuckled.

She narrowed her eyes as she pointed an aerosol can at me, "You, my friend, have just earned yourself a face full of Asleep."

She sprayed the can.

It took only seconds; I was already smelling the sickly sweet scent.

My eyes were barely open when I hear Melanie say, "We won't let you die, Wanda."

* * *

_The Point Of View From A Doctor_.

I'm literally shaking in fear as I see Mel set Wanda, face-down, on the cot. Sunny was bringing the girl with the red hair.

_She said that there'd be a significant difference; just have faith in Wanda,_ I said to myself as I took a deep breath.

"Now what, Doc?" I hear Mel ask. I still didn't open my eyes; "Bring me No Pain, Heal, and Seal."

"Got it," Mel said as I heard her shuffling through Wanda's backpack. "No Pain…Heal…and Seal," she said to herself. "Anything else?"

"Cryotank. Bring one," I stated as I shook my hands, to keep the blood flowing.

I heard the cryotank being set down on the table. "That's about it, isn't it…?" I heard Melanie say.

"So it is," I whispered as I opened my eyes. I turned my eyes away from the ceiling and faced the two girls, lying side by side on their cots. "Sunny," I called.

"Hmm?" she said as she made her way over to me.

"First things first, I need you to get the soul currently in the red-haired girl out," I stated as I started getting the tools out for both of us. But when she saw me hold the scalpel, I saw her flinch. "Never mind, Sunny. Melanie, you do it. Sunny, you care for the soul as Melanie puts in the new soul and heals the girl."

"And what will you be doing, Doc?" Sunny asked with mild curiosity.

"Splitting the girls up," I said as I took hold of one of Wanda's blond curls. _And I have no idea how to even **begin**…_

"Everything's ready, Doc. Should we just…start?" Melanie asked from behind me. We were both sitting on stools, back-to-back. Sunny was sitting at the head of the red-haired girl, with the cryotank turned on and ready.

I took another deep breath. "You do remember how, right Mel?" I asked, buying time.

"Of course. I've seen it through Wanda's memories. Just say the magic word, Doc."

Another deep breath. _You're going to deal with it, sooner or later, Doc_, I said to myself. "…You may begin." I said the words like they were a death sentence.

I began the usual process: spraying No Pain, using the scalpel to cut an opening as long as the scar, and then slightly opening it to reveal the soul. But I wasn't greeted to the bright blue that I had come to know.

_No, I must be seeing things,_ I said as I opened the edges more. Oh, I was clearly not seeing things.

The soul, that had once been a radiant light blue, was now the color of a deep red. "Oh, my God…" I whispered awestricken. I simply stared at the red soul, like an idiot; I couldn't help it. I knew it was stupid to think this, but for some reason…the color of Wanda's soul looks like the color of a human heart…

I quickly erased my pointless thinking and observed the soul more closely._ A significant difference…A significant difference…_I repeated again and again.

Nothing. The soul looked the same. I was getting frustrated; and I was soon awarded.

The bottom left corner…the joints were more close together and they were thinner than the rest. And now that I looked at it…, it was slightly a purplish color. Blue and red equals purple.

_I'm a genius!_ I shouted as I quickly grabbed the scalpel. Now, I was cut short. _I've found the difference… but how do I separate them?_

"Doc, are you done yet?" I heard Melanie say.

I swallowed before answering, "Not yet," I quietly said.

"Please hurry," replied Sunny. "We can't keep the human exposed like this."

_Just follow your instincts…_I said as I edged the blade at the tip where the purple met the red. I started cutting.

It felt so soft and gooey; I was afraid it might move and mess me up. I cut the line slowly, made sure the purple was completely separated from the red.

I quickly set the scalpel aside and gently took the purple soul out. I looked at it for a second in wonder. It wasn't a magnificent bright blue, but it was still a majestic bright purple. I turned around and placed her in Melanie's hands. I wanted to see her claim her home, but I had to care for Wanda.

I turned around as I grabbed the Heal and Seal bottles. After applying both, I watched the alien medicines heal up Wanda's cut in seconds. It was over now.

"Doc, we did it!" I heard Melanie say cheerfully. "Doc?"

"Who knows if we really did it?" I whispered as I walked to the nearest cot.

"Doc…you shouldn't be upset; they're still breathing," Melanie said, as if that would cheer me up.

__

"They're breathing, but are they suffering? Will they overcome? Will they keep breathing? Those questions are the ones we need answered," I said as I lied down on my side, away from them. "Until then, I have no choice but to expect the worst." I closed my eyes.

I heard someone making their way to me, but I stayed still. The person sat down beside me and stroked my hair. "Don't worry, Doc. You did a good job," Melanie whispered.

I let out a sigh. "I don't need your sympathy, Mel."

"I'm telling the truth," she said, a little hurt.

I could sense she was about to give some dumb speech to try to cheer me up, but someone interrupted. "Doc, are you down there!? We need your help with the fields!" a deep voice said.

Oh, the drama. Why must it always come? I thought to myself as my eyebrows crumpled. A big scene was going to occur; I knew it was coming.

I felt Mel stiffen at the voice. She quickly got up and walked, I guess, to hide Wanda. "Um…Doc's sleeping! Maybe you should come by another time!"

"What!? Come on, I'm literally dying inside and I don't even get a break!! Wake his ass up!!" the voice shouted more loudly. He was getting closer…I chanted to myself. Well, I wasn't going to stay up for the big scene that was about to occur.

"He's exhausted! Now, go _away_!!" Melanie screamed as the footsteps grew louder. She ran forward to stop him, but I'm guessing she was too late.

The footsteps halted; I heard something drop. I'm guessing he was holding something.

"What…?" he whispered quietly.

_Come forthe`, All-mighty Drama. I think I'm going to take a nap…_

My beautiful plans were destroyed as I heard someone's blood-piercing scream fill the room. Well, it filled the whole caves, but you get the point.

I zipped right up and ran to the source of the crime. Wanda.

She was screaming, and she was far past what I'd call "in pain." She screamed as though she were rolling in fire, getting squashed by a toe truck, and getting punched in the gut 10 times by a professional boxer. All at the same time.

_What went wrong!? Did I fail…?_ I thought anxiously as I went to get sedatives. But Wanda's hand caught my eye…

She was clenching her huge stomach.

_Why me?_ I asked myself as I prepared myself for a gruesome job.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Doc. People just love to torutre you, don't they? Sorry for submitting a rough draft and not editing it. I was in a hurry to get this up, I made it look all ugly. Well, now it's better.**

**R & R, people. R and R. **


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hi people! I was never really the quitter type, so I'm really happy to be proved right! I want to thank all you people for cheering me up in my time of need! And so to thank you I made a special chapter that's kinda longer than my usual ones. Oh well. First time writing a chapter in a long time, so don't judge me!**

**Oh, I want to throw a special**** thank you to Japanesegirl388! You don't know how much that sentence meant to me!! It wasn't a comment or anything, she just threw me an idea!! I can't believe I didn't think of that! Thank you sooo much!!**

**Anyway, without further delay, I bring you the ****real**** chapter 23! I guess it's kind of like a filler chapter, but I hope you like it.**

**

* * *

  
**

_Ian's POV_

_A few days after Wanda became horribly ill_**(Back in chapter 8)**

I don't know what I'm doing anymore…but I'll do anything to save Wanda. Anything.

And that was the only reason I was standing deep in the enemy's lair--in the city. I had stolen Doc's white sedan, as soon as I realized how much pain Wanda was in. She was crying and screaming; I just…_couldn't_ take it anymore! I had to do something; no matter how _stupid _it might be.

I was dying of anxiety and I simply wanted to sleep. My eyelids were even drooping and my hold on the wheel loosened…

The next thing I knew…the car's sudden stop flung me forward. That wretched seat belt hurt like hell when it slapped me in place! The air bag opened…a tad too late.

I had hit a cactus. Of all things I could've hit while asleep, I _had _to hit that stupid cactus! Oh, and now people were stopping their cars, wanting to _help_. I slipped silently out of the car; I wasn't hurt that bad.

But those damn leeches were _persistent! _I did my best to kindly reject their help, but sometimes a bit of my human anger slipped. They were looking at me as if _I _were the parasite! God, all I wanted was to get to the hospital and ask about Wanda…

Wait a second.

I let myself fall to the ground and pretended to faint.

"Oh, dear! Someone call the police!" I heard voices frantically shout. They were really good at panicking, weren't they?

I heard those familiar sirens of the police--err, _seekers--_and I was soon strapped onto a stretcher, just like the old days. While I was in the ambulance, there were several people who actually wanted to go _with _me!

These were _strangers _and they were _crying _about the tiny car-accident I just had. Huh. That's a little weird…Reminds me of Wanda…

* * *

As soon as I was I heard the Healer speak, I quit the act. I sat up quickly; I was sitting on a silver recliner with sterile paper on it. I was a bit surprised by the Healer's appearance…

She was a girl. A little girl, actually--couldn't be more than 15 years old. She looked latin, black long hair, and big round eyes. Since she's young, hopefully she won't notice that I'm still human…

"My name's Sky Aboves. So what's the injury today?" she said as she walked over to me.

"I'm not hurt," I said immediately. I quickly changed my tone to a more cheerful one. "I felt a little dizzy after the crash, but I'm okay now. Actually, can I ask you a few questions?" I said, trying to keep a smile on my face.

"Of course," she said as she cracked a wide smile, exposing white teeth.

"I'm actually hoping to become a Healer and I've been studying…but I was looking at a case and it befuddled me. In this case…," I looked away. It just felt so _awkward_, talking about Wanda to a stranger. An enemy of all people. I finally got my grip and continued. "…a young woman has been vomiting and having stomach problems," I said as the Healer watched me with enthusiasm.

I looked at her, as if I were begging for her to help me. "She's been fainting and throwing up! She complains that her stomach hurts _so _much! I don't know what to do anymore…" I said, on the verge of crying. I quickly looked away; I'd rather face the wall.

"…You're really emotional with cases, aren't you?" I heard her say.

"Cases?" I asked as I wiped my eyes with my sleeve real quick. "Oh…yeah. This person is a friend of mine." I turned towards Sky Aboves to find her with an amused expression on her face.

"You seriously want to be a Healer?" she said, as if she were trying to hold back laughter. _Laughter!?_

"Why do you ask?" I said in a tone a little too harsh for her taste.

She blinked twice. She gave me a tiny smile and then walked over to me. "Then you should _know _that she doesn't have a healthy diet! And if she's actually having pain…how long has this been going on?" she said as she placed one hand on the recliner.

"…A couple of days. It couldn't be more than two."

Her eyebrows crumpled. "Hmm…that is unusual. If she would have an unhealthy diet, then it should've lasted _longer_ unless…" All of a sudden, her eyes widened and she gave me a wordless stare.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" she said all of a sudden.

"Huh? Oh, I don't mind. But…could you just tell me already?" I said as my hands started to fist.

I had about a thousand things running through my mind. They all circled around Wanda…and being sick…and _dying…_

"Healer, just tell me," I hissed out as my hands started to fist.

She forced out half a chuckle. "I'm not really sure how to say this. But I assure you, that your friend is not in any serious danger," she said as she looked away shyly.

This threw me off. "…What?" I said as I looked her dead in the eye. _If she was bluffing, she was __**so **__gonna die…_

She was looking nervous all of a sudden. "I know what's wrong with your friend…Although I wouldn't use the word _wrong_…You know, it might be better if you ask her yourself... I'm sure she _already _knows what's wrong with her…"

This just threw me off even farther. "But don't you get it? She's in _pain_--"

"It's natural. Tell her she needs to be eating more food, and more _healthier _food. I'm sure it won't be a prob--" She came to a stop. The Healer was giving me this strange look.

"You're eyes are blue…" she faintly whispered.

_I swear, if she doesn't get to the point and tell me what's wrong with Wanda, then I'll--_

"…_only_ blue…" she said as her eyes widened.

_Crap._

I jumped off the recliner and was about to high-tail it out of there, if only that damn Healer hadn't sprayed something on my face.

"Damn it!" I shouted as my eyesight started to blur. I felt around and I heard the crashing of containers.

"SECURITY! HELP!! CALL THE SEEKERS!!" I heard a high pitch voice yell. The Healer.

"No, it's not what you think! I can't _die_!" I shouted as I searched around blindly.

"HUMAN! THERE'S A HUMAN IN HERE!!!"

I heard the doors slam open and felt myself being pinned to the ground.

"Ugh! Get off me, you fucking _parasite!_" I screamed as I tried to get out of this deathtrap. Lucky for me, these parasites weren't as heavy as I were. I easily shrugged them off. I pulled myself to my feet.

_Now, just head for the exit and pretend this never happened--_

My escape design was cut short as I heard a gun. I looked down to my chest, in a stage of shock. I heard the blood slowly pool…

_Damn it…I failed Wanda…_I thought as I slowly slipped to the ground.

_Wow, for some reason…I feel so sleepy…_

I felt myself being turned face forward and I managed to see one last thing. A Seeker with a gun in her hands. She had light brown hair that stopped at her waist.

She kneeled closer to me and smiled. "No need to fret, little human. My name's Elise and you will soon see me again. Only you won't be _you _anymore…" she said with her eyes slightly narrowed.

"…_Fuck you…" _I managed to mutter.

This only caused her to smile even wider. "I hope you enjoy your sleep, little _human_."

_Elise…I swear, if I ever hear that name again…I will kill her._

And that was when I met true darkness. I saw, felt, and heard nothing, but darkness.

_So this is how it ends…

* * *

_

As if death wasn't bad _enough, _I saw myself watching it over _again. _And _how _exactly can you watch _yourself_?

Well, if you're taken over by a mutant parasite, you can watch yourself do all kinds of things!

I felt this new soul inside me wince at the part where I had gotten shot. _What a pansy…_

_Who said that? _

_Uh…that would be __**me**__. As in, Ian O'Shea. As in, the owner of the body you just stole. _

_You're lying! I'm the only one in here; this is __**my**__ body._

_Whatever you say, friend. Now, do you mind opening my eyes? I need help and I kinda want to know where we are. _

I could feel him getting irritated, but he did as I asked. After being in the dark for what seemed like an eternity, the light really felt like it was blinding me.

I felt my eyes twitch, but they opened all the way. I felt myself quickly resume a sitting position and face the people who were so anxiously waiting to meet us.

One of the parasites walked forward with a smile. _Hey, I know this person…_

_Isn't she the one who killed you? _I heard the Body Snatcher say.

Ugh, she was…I wanted to throttle her so badly. I wanted to see the life drain out of her for what she did to me…

_This is my body now! I won't let you hurt my familiars in such a vile human way!_

That's weird. For some reason, I felt like he had chained me to a wall or something. I couldn't even _think._

"Hello. My name's Elise. How do you feel?" the seeker asked in _such _a kind voice.

"Alert and focused, Seeker. Now, I assume you want information about this human, correct?" I heard my voice say. But it wasn't _my _voice…

"Correct, umm…" she said, as if trying to remember something.

"Shadows Hiding. That's my name. Now as for the human…His name is Ian O'Shea and he was in the city alone. He had come to a the hospital to ask information about…a friend. She's a young girl and she is sick…." I felt his eye twitching. _What was going on?_ "I have no more information about her, but I strongly believe she is a human. After asking information at the clinic, he was going to head back to…a place…."

"Is something the matter, Shadows?" Elise asked with an impatient tone.

I felt him frowning. _Oh, ho, so you can't get all the information, can you? _I thought.

"No…but I seem to have difficulty accessing the information…" I felt him place a hand to his temple.

"No need to strain yourself. If you don't have the information, it's fine; I won't strain you. After all, this was a human who knew about us…If you have any more problems, report to me immediately." And with that, she took off.

* * *

_Many months later…_

_I feel…__**horrible**__. Very, very __**horrible**__. Very __**horrible**__, indeed. I don't think there is another word to sum up how __**horrible**__ I'm feeling other than the word __**horrible**..__. How __**horrible**__ my life is…_

_GET ANOTHER DAMN WORD!! READ THE THESARUS!! READ A DICTIONARY!! I DON'T CARE, BUT THERE'S OTHER WORDS OTHER THAN THE WORD __**HORRIBLE!!**_

_Have you forgotten I'm just your conscious? _I thought, jokingly. _I can't read. Oh, how **horrible** it is to not read…_

_For the love of God! _I heard Shadows shout in his mind. Pardon, _our _mind.

_I'm just going to ignore you, from now on! _Shadows shouted as we heard the bell ring. Time for the teacher to do his thing.

_Well, good luck! But I must warn you that I've been taught by the master of all that is annoying---my brother. I think I should make use of those skills…_

"Good morning, class," the _honorable _Shadows Hiding said.

"Good morning, Professor Hiding!" the class shouted back.

Shadows got up from his seat and walked towards the chalkboard. "Today, we will be talking about how bats move about in the Singing World. They have no sense of sight, and yet they are still able to maneuver excellently. Does anyone care to explain?"

_Teacher, teacher! I know the answer, pick me, pick me!_

Shadows quickly turned to the chalkboard, ignoring the many raised hands already in the air. "Well, you see, although they are from a different planet, the bats operate exactly like the bats on this planet. They use waves---"

_The wheels on the bus go ROUND and ROUND! ROUND and ROUND! ROUND and ROUND! The wheels on the bus go ROUND and ROUND--_

A loud pitched squeel came from the chalkboard as Shadows drew a thick, big, vertical line.

_Hey, didn't anyone show you how to use chalk!? You don't use it like that, no, you've got it __**all **__wrong! That is __**not **__how you spell "waves"! Jeez, you know you can sue your kindergarten teacher for not showing you how to use chalk right!_

I could feel Shadows' eyebrows come together and his fists were tightening. I could feel his lips pull up into an evil smile.

_Uh…oh?_

Shadows quickly spun to face the class with that evil smile still in place. "Early class dismissal! Carry your textbooks and _leave!" _Shadows yelled in an extra-happy tone.

Every single student looked a bit paler as they quickly left the room.

"A ha, ha, ha…So what's on the agenda today, _Ian? _You want to keep annoying me? You only get 45 minutes…!" he trailed off in an even more eviler tone than before, as he packed his suitcase.

_Uh…are you okay?_

"Oh, I am _perrrrfect! _Perfect with a capital _P_! But as for you, you are so _not _perfect! Not perfect with a capital _N!_" he said as he threw random things in his suitcase.

_Dude, calm down. Do you have any idea how it's like to be a prisoner of your own body? It's not exactly a joy ride. _

_But you're messing up my life. That's why I'm leaving, _Shadows said. As he walked out of the classroom, he forced me behind the prison walls.

* * *

_Leaving? _I asked as soon I was able to break free. We were in a car, a black BMW. We were on the road, but I had no idea where to. The clock said it was 8:51 p.m.

_Yeah, leaving. I've been able to keep up with your crap for a long time…but I'm just not that strong. I haven't ever skipped a term before, so you damaged my pride too. Oh well, anything to be out of here…_Shadows thought abstractedly as he kept his eyes on the sunset.

_But that means they'll kill me, _I said quietly.

_Wish they didn't have to do that. I hate it when the Seekers kill people, even humans. But what can I do?_

Okay, I have to be careful about this. Don't expose too much information. _Maybe __**we **__can't do anything. But I know a friend that can help. _

_A friend? You mean a human?_

_Yes…but you have to do as I say. My friend can get you out harmlessly and be put into another body. _

_Why should I trust you? _Shadows asked as his eyes started to speculate over the idea.

_Actually, the question should be: why should I trust you? You can turn me in anytime. _

…_Well, as much as I don't like you, I wouldn't go back to the Seekers. They'd find out about Wanda. I may not like you, but I will **not **let them get to her!_

That struck a nerve. _I told you to __**not **__talk about her! God, do you know how much that pisses me __**off!?**_

Yeah, I wasn't that good with keeping secrets. Dying does that to a person…

_Anyway, as long as we get separated, I'll do anything. You mind telling me what we're going to do again, exactly? _

_Well, we're going to visit a friend of mine. His name is Eustace…but we like to call him Doc.

* * *

_

If you ever want to scare someone and you live in the Arizona area, try scaring someone in the middle of the dessert at midnight. I'm sure _that'd _really scare them. Or piss them off as hell.

Yep, we were _definitely _pissed off. We were walking on our way to the Resistance, when somebody jumped from behind us and clamped a big hand on our mouth.

"Don't make a sound and you won't get hurt," hissed the voice of a familiar Jared Howe.

_Like we seriously have the time for this…_Shadows and I thought in unison, as we gave a backwards kick right to Jared's crotch. That made him let go. And start cussing... And start coughing...And start crying...

Okay, I was kidding about the crying part. A little. Well, that's what he gets for scaring us like that!

I let go of the body I had been carrying on my shoulder (It was for Shadows. He chose the body out, as if he were _window shopping. _Yeah, I'd rather not talk about that…).

"Sorry about that Jared, but that's what you get for scaring the crap out of us!" I shouted.

"Ian!?" Jared shouted, then quickly lowered his tone. "And what do you mean _us?_" He quickly pulled out a flashlight and shined it in my eyes.

I didn't flinch away.

He turned off the light and sighed. "Okay…Let me get you to Doc…"

* * *

It feels kinda lonely when you have your mind to yourself. No "other voice" to answer your thoughts. But I was still happy that I got my body back.

I slowly sat up and was facing nearly every one of my family members. Nearly. I examined every person quickly and noticed there was one person short. The most important one.

"Melanie, where's Wanda?" I asked immediately. Sure, no "it feels good to be back" or no "I really missed you guys." Those aren't exactly the words you'd say when you don't see your love of your life after _so _long.

She suddenly put a nervous face on. "Ian, I think you should rest before asking silly questions--"

I flew off the bed and suddenly had Melanie's neck tight between my hands. "WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE!?" I screamed, before getting kicked in the back by Jared.

I let go of her and fell to my knees, gagging. I could hear Melanie gagging along with me.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? There's no need to freaking choke Melanie _before _nor _after _she gives you an answer!! I should freaking _kill _you for laying a hand on her!" Jared screamed.

"Jared calm…down!" Melanie panted out. I slowly got to my feet and asked her directly, "Where…is…she?"

She looked me dead in the eyes and gave no mercy, "She left."

You don't know how hard it was for me to keep my grip. I breathed deeply before slowly answering, "I want details."

"She got tired of waiting so she went to get you. Don't be silly in thinking I let her go by herself--"

"Then why didn't you bring her with you?" I hissed out, my hands fisting again.

"Because she got captured. Seekers." At that word, I automatically fell to my knees. I remembered what those horrid seekers had done to _me_…and if they had _Wanda…_

"…What?" I whispered as I stared at the ground.

Melanie crossed her arms and looked away from me, "Lucky for us, we had a pair of idiots who got captured also and managed to give us some more information."

That was like a little light in the dark tunnel. I quickly looked up at her. "Who?"

She nodded in the direction of my brother and Sunny. My eyes narrowed at them. I quickly got to my feet and walked over to them.

"Your turn. Talk!" I said, a bit too harshly.

Sunny just cowered behind Kyle. Kyle was the one who looked me straight in the eye and answered. "The three of us were taken to some place in Phoenix. They took us to some warehouse full of souls and maybe humans alike. Apparently, the head seeker wanted some information and was asking everyone "questions." We don't really know if it was true, since he never got us. But everyone would come out safely and unhurt. Everyone except Wanda."

I cocked an eyebrow up. "Huh. So he kidnapped you too? That guy…" I briefly remembered my conversation with him. Shadows had done most of the talking. I didn't like it how Shadows kept thinking about Wanda that day. Good thing that he finally got over her.

I remembered the Head Seeker said he was searching for a girl. A girl he loved. He said that he would stop the whole search thing as soon as he found her. And then Wanda didn't come back…

"HOLY CRAP!!" I shouted as I quickly looked for an exit. I was about to fly back to that seeker, chop his head off, take back Wanda and then---

My ideas were cut short as soon as Kyle and Jared managed to tackle me down to the ground.

"Don't be crazy, Ian! You already left once and they placed a _soul _inside of you! Just wait it _out; _Wanda'll come back!" Kyle shouted.

"Get off me, you horse!" I shouted. "I have to go get Wanda! Who knows what that Seeker is doing to her!?"

"Wanda's a big girl and she's smart! She'll get herself out of it and you'll have to wait it through!!" Jared hollered as he hit me with his elbow.

"AH!" I shouted as I coughed up blood. "Doesn't matter if I get caught…I need to see Wanda…" I muttered. _Whoa, I feel so sleepy all of a sudden._

"ENOUGH!" I heard a gruffly voice shout. Jeb. He had his gun out and had the tip pointed to _me_. "Jared, Kyle, off! He's not going nowhere…" Jeb said with that evil look in his eye.

_Aw, crap!

* * *

_

"I don't see why Jeb made me do all of this! I'm practically _dying _and I don't even get a _day off!" _I shouted to my brother, as I pulverized the ground with my pike.

"It's because it'll be nearly impossible for you to escape! Three months of garden work and _no _days off; we'll be seeing you in here every day! And if someone _doesn't _see you, they'll report to Jeb and get to searching! Jared hid the keys to every single automobile so that means you'll have to walk. If you have to walk, then you won't get far!" Kyle shouted as he crossed his arms behind his back. He was sitting next to me, watching me do all the hard work.

"You said _nearly _impossible…" I whispered, as I finally got a short water break.

Looks like Kyle heard that. He threw one arm around my neck and gave me a knuckle sandwich. A knuckle sandwich!? "Don't even think about leaving this place, little brother!" he said with a huge smile.

"What the hell!? Get off me, man!" I shouted as I struggled to push him off.

"Kyle! Stop hugging Ian!" Jeb shouted as he made his way around. "Ian! Go tell Doc to get his ass up! Ever since She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named left, we've been needing to work harder! We need all the help we can get!"

I narrowed my eyes at him and clenched my fists. _Calm down, Ian. Calm down,_ I chanted to myself.

I slowly backed away and went to search for Doc in a slight fog. I thought I'd check the hospital wing first. I was _unbearably _tired. And plus, I was still stressing about Wanda. I had gone all crazy yesterday when they refused to give me an answer…

I sighed and took a swung at my water bottle.

Instead of walking all the way, I just shouted, "Doc, are you down there!? We need help with the fields!"

Strangely, it was Melanie who answered me, "Um…Doc's sleeping! Maybe you should come by another time!" She shouted. Huh. She sounded anxious…like I cared! And did she just say he was _sleeping_!?

"What!? Come on, I'm literally _dying _inside and I don't even get a break!! Wake his ass up!!" I shouted as I started darted down the hallway.

"He's exhausted! Now, go _away_!!" Melanie shouted as her anxiety grew. _Gosh, what was she hiding from me!? Well I was about to find out. _

I entered the hospital wing to see Melanie looking at me with worried eyes. She had her eyes flapping about and kept saying, "There's nothing to see here!"

_She wasn't fooling me. _I looked over her flapping arms to see…to see…

I dropped my water bottle.

"…What?" I whispered. She was lying on one of Doc's old cots, looking like an angel with her curly blond hair flowing around her face.

My brain was probably fried by now, but I still forced my feet to take step…after step.

I extended one arm to her, refusing to believe she was real…

"…Wanda?" I whispered.

And she opened her eyes.

Her beautiful pale eyes that I've missed for _so _long…She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't form words.

"I-I…" she looked like she was in pain. But I could only stare at her pleading eyes, as I stood there like a fool.

"…Ian?" she finally said. That is, before she started screaming in pain.

Doc sprung up from his fake slumber and rushed to Wanda. He looked anxiously to her and then to the red-haired girl next to her.

_What's going on…?_

And that was when I took a _better_ look at Wanda. She was clenching her stomach--her very _large _stomach. Oh, God! So _this _was what the nurse meant when she said I should ask her myself! Then that means I didn't need to go on that trip in the first place! Wanda's pregnant!

_How long was I gone!? _I screamed in my head.

* * *

_Omake (Extra Chapter)_

_Shadows Hiding POV_

I slowly got up from my resting place. _Where am I again? Hey, Ian, answer me!_

Silence.

_This is strange…_I said to myself. I slowly looked around and finally found someone human.

A bright smile stretched across her face as she spoke. "Hi! I should say "Welcome to the Resistance" right?" the girl said. Although the hospital wing was missing some lights, I could tell that she looked a little young. She had tan skin and a blond pony tail.

I was a little befuddled. "Um…Where's Ian?" I asked.

"Sleeping. So is everyone else, actually. I stayed up because I thought you might get all confused and run away if you found no one here to explain! Oh yeah, Ian told me to give you this mirror!" she said as she handed me a small circular mirror.

I held it up and saw myself. It's just what I asked for: 25 years old, fair skin, green eyes, black hair, tall and muscular frame. Nice.

"I should show you to your room now, since you're going to be staying here forever," the blond girl said with a smile.

_Wait, what did she just say? _I dropped the mirror.

"What…?" I whispered.

"You didn't seriously think we'd let you leave, now did you? You know where we live, so now you have to stay here until you _die_….By the way, my name's Lily!" she said with that annoying smile still in place.

My jaw dropped. "THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!! STUPID IAN!!"

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**A/N: Ha ha. Now, Shadows Hiding is added to the Resistance. Poor Ian was freaking out about Wanda being pregnant. **

**I really liked writing in Ian's POV. It was hard to do, but I succeeded! Oh yeah, have you noticed that he cusses…a lot? I mean, his last words were--quote **_**"…Fuck you…" **_**Nice language, Ian. I figured, since Jared changed without Mel, then Ian should change without Wanda. Sorry for the bad language people, blame Ian, not me. XP**

**Anywho, tell me what you thought! I spent ****days ****(as in hours, straight!) on this chapter, so I hope I got it done well! I figured out that even though I'm feeling like crap and even if I have blisters on my fingers, I shouldn't give up on anything. No matter how crappy. **


	24. Chapter 24

**IMPORTANT NOTE : For those of you who don't story alert, you might not know that I erased the chapter 23, and put in a new one. Yeah...you might want to read that one before you read this one, because I worked freaking hard on that one and I want to know what you guys think! Please!? Anyway, if you've already read it, please carry on!**

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_Wanda's Point Of View_

I felt my circuits slowly re-attach themselves. Looks like the empty space that Silvers was occupying needed to be filled.

And so, I had to withstand the torture of feeling like a five-year old for about 1 minute. And then I slowly made my way back; my mind began to work again.

After the punch to my pride of having the brain of a child for a moment, I was expected to have a happy welcome home party! I had my mind to myself, Silvers was free, and I should be rewarded for doing a super great deed. Instead, I was kinda feeling pain…

"…Wanda…" I heard somebody whisper.

I knew that voice. I _knew _that voice!

I opened my eyes.

There he was: with his too dark hair, his too blue eyes, and his too fair skin…

My perfect Ian.

"I-I…" I bit my lip. Sure, I was in extreme agony, but I just wanted to make sure it was him…

"…Ian?"

With a single word, he gave me that huge smile that I've missed for _so _long…

And that was when I felt the weirdest disturbance in my bladder. Oh, and now my pain was increasing…

IT WAS A LOT OF PAIN!!!!!!!! "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!!"

I heard voices but I couldn't focus! I couldn't breathe; I couldn't see!! Why is this happening!? SOMEBODY TELL ME WHY THIS IS HAPPENING!!!!!!

"IAN!!!!" I started screaming out. "IAN, COME HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

_I must be in wonderland, _I thought to myself. I felt someone familiar hold my hand and for a second, the pain went away. "Ian?" I said, momentarily distracted.

"Wanda, I'm here! It's okay, it's okay! Just make it through this, please just make it through this!" I heard Ian say.

_I really am in wonderland, aren't I? If Ian's here, it'll all be okay---even if he is just a dream. But I'm okay if this is all a dream…NO, I AM DEFINITELY NOT OKAY IF THIS IS ALL A DREAM!!!!!!! THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY F***ING PAIN IN WONDERLAND!!! _

"Wanda, can you hear me!" I heard Ian shout. "Wanda, sweetie, all you have to do is push! You're having our baby! I know you can do this, Wanda! Push!" he shouted.

_Deep breath, deep breath. _"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed for the second time as I did my best to do what Ian asked. I took a tiny break to breathe again, as I prepared myself for the next round.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed piercingly, as I could feel my brow sweating.

"Aha! Wanda, I can see the head!! You're actually doing it, Wanda!! You can do this; Wanda, I know you can! Now, PUSH!!" Ian shouted again.

I must've torn his hand off by now. Nope, still in place. _Exhale, inhale. Exhale, inhale, _I chanted to myself. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed again.

"Wanda, are you listening to me, sweetheart!? Our baby's almost here! I'm here for you, I'll always be here!!" Ian shouted.

"Ian…I don't think I can do this," I whispered. I tried to open my eyes to see him, but I couldn't…

"Yes you can! You can, Wanda! I love you, and I know you'll make it through this! All you need is one more push!" Ian said as he tightened my hand.

"Promise me…you'll never leave…again," I panted out.

"I promise. I don't break promises, Wanda," he said firmly.

"I…know…" I said with a small smile.

"Wanda, we need you to push once more! Hurry!" I heard Doc say.

"On 3, Wanda." Ian said.

I nodded. _Torture almost done, Wanda._ I said to myself.

"1... 2... 3!" Ian said.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I pushed with all my tiny strength.

My screaming was synched with another screaming. A baby was crying.

"It's a girl!" I heard Doc shout.

_A girl!? _"Let me…Let me see…her…" I managed to whisper.

"Wanda, open your eyes ," I heard someone say.

I did as I was told…and I cried. I raised my hand to cover my lips as I sobbed. I was feeling shocked, amazed, speechless, excited, overjoyed, confused, dazzled, and overwhelmingly happy at the sight before me.

And there was only one person who could make me feel that.

Ian.

He was standing right there--right in _front _of me. His hair was still black and his skin was still fair. And his eyes---oh, his eyes!--- they were that icy blue that I had come to love. And they were _only_ blue. _God, I'm not dreaming this, am I!?_

He was looking at me with so much tender in his eyes…and he was holding our child. "Am I doing this right?" he whispered to me, gesturing towards our daughter.

"Of course you are…" I whispered back, still in a dazed expression. I just couldn't seem to look away from his eyes…

He slowly made his way over to me with a small smile. He sat down next to me and placed our baby in my hands.

"Oh!" I said as I looked at her. She was just so, _so_ adorable! She was all nice and warm in her pink blanket and she didn't even cry. She was just staring at me with her wide faded blue eyes.

"I wish she got your eyes instead! My eyes are so ugly!" I shouted with a pout.

"No, they're not. Your eyes are one of the things I love about you," Ian said with a thoughtful look.

I looked down at my baby with a tiny smile. "You really are a man of your word, aren't you?" I whispered, as I felt someone place two fingers below my chin.

Ian turned my head in his direction, as he whispered, "I owe it all to you, my Wanderer." And finally, after _so _long, our lips met.

My eyes fluttered shut and I had to keep reminding myself that I was holding our baby. Our lips moved this way and that; I've missed this _so _much. I wanted to throw my arms around him, but somebody _had _to interrupt, right?

"Ahem!" Melanie's loud voice echoed. I quickly sprung apart from Ian, but kept his hand. "You're going to squish my new niece!" Mel shouted, as she put her hands on her hips.

I looked up at her with wide eyes. "Melanie? You made it back safely?" I whispered in awe.

"Of course I did!" she shouted with a wide smile. "Everyone did! The only one that hadn't come back was you! You've kept us waiting a long time, Wanderer…" Melanie said with a touch of sadness in her eyes.

"Mel…" I said, as my vision became blurry. I threw one arm around her, the other one carefully cradled my baby.

"Okay, okay, enough tears," Mel whispered as she patted my back. "Now, what shall we name her! I think Wanda should decide, since she has an exact copy of your eyes! Oh, and because you're her mom," Mel shouted with enthusiasm.

"It has to be something cute!" Sunny shouted over her shoulder.

"Choose a name with a special meaning to you," Doc said, as he walked in our direction.

"Hmm…" I stared at my baby's wide eyes, then turned to face Ian. "What do you think?"

"I think you should decide," he said with a wide smile.

I continued to stare at my baby with an amused expression. She didn't cry; I thought something might've been wrong with her. She just stared and stared at me…And finally…

She gave me the teensiest smile. My eyes widened at that.

"Wow…" Ian whispered, as he caught sight of her smile _before_ it had disappeared and she started crying.

"Shh, shh, shh. Don't cry, my little Amethyst," I whispered, as I gently rocked her.

"Amethyst?" Ian said as he raised one eyebrow.

"It's my favorite gem stone," I said, not looking away from Amethyst's faded blue eyes. "Now, _she _is my favorite gem…" I whispered.

"Yeah…Amethyst, huh. That's a nice name…" I heard Ian whisper.

"But it's kind of a mouthful! Why don't we just call her Violet?" I heard someone shout.

I quickly turned around to find my ancient, old friend Jeb, smiling like always. "Jeb!?"

"Or how about Lavender!" Lily said, as she half-dragged a sad looking man. I haven't seen that guy before, could there be new people now!?

"You know what, screw those names! Let's call her Pink or Purple! Colors of the rainbow rock!" Kyle shouted with his fist in the air.

"Well, I think Amethyst suits her just fine," Sunny said as she clung to Kyle's waist.

"Airplane baby! Let's call her that!" little Freedom said, as he literally popped out of nowhere.

"Wanda makes the decision and that's what she chose!" Jared said, as he tried to make his way to me through the crowd of people.

"When did you all get in here!?" I shouted.

"Wanda, you're so slow! You seriously thought your screaming _wouldn't _attract attention? Give me a break!" Melanie shouted as she patted my head.

I felt my face flush red, as I quickly turned away from all the laughing voices. Ian lowered his head and whispered in my ear, "You're so beautiful when you blush, Wanda."

And of course, that just made me blush deeper. Through the embarrassment, I was fleetingly happy. I had never been this happy in _so_ long…

And to think, it only took two sounds to break that happiness.

I heard a slight groan, coming from a cot beside me. I quickly sat up straighter to see Silvers, my former self, start to slowly get up.

_I had completely forgotten about her. Did it work? Was she saved? _

Her long red hair covered her face and then she turned to the left…to face me.

We simply stared at each other; the other humans had gone silent.

And then, the other noise started to echo in the caves. It was kind of a thrumming, sound…

"Is that…a helicopter?" I heard Melanie whisper. I simply stared at the ceiling in shock.

_I had been so busy; I had too much to do! I was trying to get back to the Resistance in the quickest time possible, so Miss. Nurse wouldn't wake up on accident and kill herself. I completely forgot to cover my tracks!! Don't tell me someone had discovered me! _I shouted quickly through my mind.

"It's those damn Seekers! Are they…Are they landing above us!?" I heard Jeb shout.

"Damn it!! Everyone, we have to evacuate!" Jared shouted, as he started to make a sprint towards the storage room.

"No!" someone shouted real loudly, causing all the noise to stop. Silvers.

She slowly stood up and let her red long hair fall down her shoulders. "There's no need for you to evacuate. I know the Head Seeker; I'll make him leave. It's me he wants, anyway," she said as she started to walk towards the exit.

"Silvers!" I shouted, as I put Amethyst into Ian's hands. I quickly got out of the cot and ran towards her.

"Wanda?" she whispered with a distant look in her eyes.

"I'm going with you! I won't let you turn yourself in!" I shouted, as I clenched her arm tightly.

Silvers looked away as she easily released my hold from her arm. "I'm sorry," she whispered, before running off into the dark hallway.

"SILVERS!!" I shouted, as I chased her down. Oh, but she was _so _much faster than me!

_Damn it! Why does somebody keep messing up with my life!? WHY!? _I shouted, as I ran helplessly through the dark hallway, with tears running down my face, all the while.

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**A/N: Hey, did anybody notice that when Ian cussed, I didn't bleep anything out, but when Wanda cussed (f***ing wonderland!), I did bleep it out? It's 'cause Wanda's so innocent! **

**Amethyst. It took me quite a while to come up with that name. I was looking at birthstones and the Amethyst one looked so pretty (it's a type of purple. The February birthstone, FYI), so I decided to give that name to Wanda's baby. **

**Reviewers shall get a cookie! Seriously, wait 4-6 years and one day, ONE DAY, you will find a cookie in your mail box. R & R!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey people! If I've been slow at updating this chapter, it's 'cause this is the FINAL CHAPTER!! Can't believe I've written this much!! It's been a freakin' long journey, so i worked hard on this last chapter. I'll save the big ramble for later! As for now, please enjoy this final chapter!!**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure EVERYONE knows I'm not Stephenie Meyer and if I seriously owned The Host then I would be like, "Look at me! Look at me! I OWN THE HOST!!!" But since I'm not saying that, I think that means I don't own the Host. But I DO own this freakin story!! Yay! =P

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_Silver Flames' POV_

I ran through the Resistance with my hair swinging behind me. I looked at those purple walls with a sense of…longing. This place…was from Wanda's memories. She was so…, _so_ happy here…but happiness was never meant for me.

My life has been tragic. It always has been and it always will be.

All those memories…They were making me slow _down_. I **wanted **to stay. I **wanted **to be happy. I didn't want to run away anymore.

"SILVERS!!" I heard my future self shout. Wanda.

My eyes widened, but my feet continued to push myself further. _Damn it! What does she want!? _

I sealed my eyes shut as the tears started to fall. _Why!? If __**she**__ gets to be happy, then why can't I!?_

I opened my eyes; the storage room was nearing…

"_Why can't I?" _I whispered, hopelessly.

I wiped my tears and stiffened my face before entering the bright room. I stepped in quietly and at first, I wasn't noticed.

But someone with black eyes, black hair, fair skin, and hawk vision turned, as she spotted me. "SILVERS!!" she shouted, as she ran towards me and tackled me to the ground with a ferocious look on her face. She pulled out a pistol and pressed it against my temple. "FREEZE!!"

Huh. The last time I had seen Alarms Aloud, she had not been so…alarm. Or aloud, for that matter.

I kept my face cold as I responded, "Get off me, you bitch."

She looked taken aback. But then a sneer slowly stretched across her face. "Who's the one with the gun, old friend?"

"Alarms, get off her."

At that sound, she instantly jumped off me. But she had her gun still aimed at me.

"Lower your weapon." Alarms did as she was told.

I slowly sat up. As soon as I saw him, I instantly froze. He looked more human, but I would remember those indigo eyes anywhere.

Rivers Soothing.

He had navy blue hair and he was wearing a white shirt with a loose black tie. He looked...exhausted. More importanly, his eyes looked so…_cold. _

"Hmm, that body suits you. Even for a traitor!" he said with fake amusement. His footsteps echoed in the quiet room, as he walked towards me.

He stopped before me and stared me down with those cold, indigo eyes. "So did you enjoy life without me? Last I remember, you were sick of me and sent me away. Just because you couldn't tell me off…" he said with a fake smile and narrowed eyes.

His words didn't make any sense to me; I was too fascinated by his voice.

"Well, say something." he said as he crossed his arms and looked away.

I simply stared at him, like a fool.

He turned back to me and his expression was furious, "GET UP!!"

The anger of his voice broke me out of my daydreams. I instantly got up and put on a stiff face. "What do you want!?"

He gripped my hair angrily and pulled me closer. I let out a tiny yelp.

"All I want to know is why," he hissed angrily in my ear.

"Why what!?" I shouted, as my eyes glanced around frantically. There was no other seekers in the room. Just him and Alarms Aloud.

"Why did you do that? Back on the Fire Planet. You called to me with a happy expression…and then you knocked me out. I thought I had died…but then I woke up on the Planet of the Bats. Why would you do that to me…? Why, Silvers?" he whispered, his anger slowly fading into sadness.

I was utterly confused. What was he _talking _about!? _He_ was the one who attacked _me_! Lucky for me, I had found out that it was simply a seeker in his body…

"Ah! Rivers! You don't know anything, do you!? Of course not, you were in your cyrotank!" I said, as I tried to meet his eyes, but he continued to grip my hair; I was forced to look to the side.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he hissed.

"That was a _seeker _who must have looked like me! The same thing happened to me!" I shouted, as he loosened his grip on my hair. I took a step backwards to find a confused look on his face.

"That…_wasn't _you?" he said differently.

"No! You see, the seekers had become impatient and they tested us---the Valkyrians! And they found out! Then they started eliminating us---every one of us." I babbled anxiously, but as my memories of that day took place…I quieted down.

I looked at the ground, refusing to look at his face, as I spoke. "I was the last one left…and I had your cyrotank with me… I put you on a shuttle…and then they killed me," I whispered, as a single tear dropped.

I felt someone place a hand underneath my chin and pulled my face upward. Rivers was staring at me with a look full of guilt and…sadness? "They had told me that had happened…I didn't know _you _were the last survivor…You've been through a lot, haven't you, Silvers?" he said with a tiny smile.

More tears fell down my face, as I smiled sadly. "You have _no _idea," I whispered.

His beautiful eyes were drowning in anguish, as I quietly cried.

Suddenly, he threw his arms around me and held me tightly. "I'm sorry, Silvers…I'm _so _sorry…" he whispered in my hair.

"What're you apologizing for?" I whispered as I hiccupped. "_You _weren't the one who had killed me…"

"But I wasn't _there_!" he shouted, as he pulled back to face me.

I smiled brightly as I said the words, "But you're here, now. Right?"

He smiled, equally as bright, as he replied, "Right."

Memories of the Resistance and Wanda's life flashed through my mind rapidly.

The smile faded off my face. I refused to look at him, as I said the words that would push him away from me. "But it doesn't matter. Happiness wasn't meant for me, Rivers. It never was. I can never go out with the souls, because I have become too human. They know who I am; I was the last Valkyrian that they were going to test on. But you, Rivers!" I said, as I gripped his shoulders tightly and stared at him with happiness. I stared at him with hope. It was hope for _him _living, not for me. "You can _live!_ I had you hidden; they won't know your true identity! You can live freely! So please…return to the world of the souls. I'll simply…dream with you…" I said with false happiness. I was raging a battle with my tear ducts…and I was going to lose.

I opened my eyes to a surprise. Rivers' looked utterly angry. He placed his hands on my shoulders, as he roughly said, "Now, you look here, Silvers. There is _no _way in hell that I am going back there!! God, why would you even _think _that I would!?"

My jaw dropped. "But you have to--"

"But nothing!" he shouted. "I am _not _going to go back there and that's final!"

"But where can we go!?" I shouted, as tears flowed like a waterfall. I closed my eyes and turned away from him. "If we don't go back there, then there's _nowhere! _I can't go up there because I'm human and _wanted_; you can't stay down here because you're a seeker and _hated! _In a situation like that, _how can we stay together!!??" _I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Excuse me!" someone's familiar voice shouted. "I have a suggestion!"

I turned around to see someone's hand waving around in the air, like an idiot. Wanda's bright curls gave her away, as did her shining smile. "Silversss? Riversss? I think _someone _wants a word with _you_!" she shouted, as if they were the words to a song.

For some reason, her song sounded like…a _threat? _

I turned around to face Rivers. He had the most surprised dumbfounded look on his face right now. "WANDA!!" he shouted, as he stomped over to her, with his finger pointed at her accusingly. "Why the hell did you leave me in a _bed in breakfast!?" _

"Maybe because you were too fat?" she said with a thoughtful look.

"WHAT!?" Rivers shouted, as he continued to get angry.

"I couldn't drag you, too! Geez, Silvers' was already fat _enough! _I didn't want to drag another fat person!" Wanda said, jokingly.

"NOOO! We're not fat; you're just weak!!" Rivers shouted, with an overly-victorious look on his face.

"Duh; you _think_?" Wanda said, mockingly, as she started to run away.

Rivers quickly ran back to me. He clomped his big hand on mine, as he shouted, "COME ON!! Are you gonna stand there forever!? We have to chase that little idiot before she runs away!!"

He continued to blabber on, but I wasn't even paying attention. I glanced at our hands, as he dragged me along. This reminded me a lot of the old days; whenever he held my hand, he would blabber angrily.

But all of those memories were in the past. I should live for the present. And if I was dealt with the hand "happiness"…well, I shouldn't be _angry, _now should I?

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_Wanda's POV_

Everyone was standing in the game room, with our arms crossed and we were all glaring at Rivers Soothing and Silver Flames, who were currently sitting on the ground with their heads bowed down, looking around sheepishly.

And out of all of us, Jeb was the most angry.

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID, YOU HEAR!?" he shouted, as he stomped off.

"Sooooo. I guess that solves your problem, doesn't it, Silvers?" I said, half-angrily and half-amused. I stared down the couple, as I pointed to the humongous hole in the roof.

"Thanks to Rivers' stupid helicopter, we don't get no game room!!" Melanie shouted, standing next to me.

"It's not like that's a big part of the Resistance…" I heard Rivers whisper.

"SHUT UP!!" Melanie shouted, as she threw a shoe at Rivers--hitting him directly in the face. Rivers gripped his face angrily, but didn't say anything, due to his poor position and everyone's glares.

"Again, I am so sorry for that!" Alarms Aloud shouted, as she bowed her head.

"No, no. It's alright, Alarms! It's not your fault for being a crappy driver!" Sunny said, as she bowed her head towards her. Looks like those two might be good friends…

"Yeah, it's _Rivers' _fault for placing her as the _pilot!_" Melanie shouted. "So, until then, Rivers and Silvers _must _reconstruct that wall! We will award you a place in the Resistance, but don't think so high of yourselves!! We can always kick you out!!" she shouted, as she stomped off. Lots of people stomped off along with her, but most people didn't really care.

"Where is everyone stomping off to?" I heard Silvers whisper.

"We are all 'stomping off to' go help Jared unpack, since _apparently _we don't need to evacuate anymore!" I shouted, as I glanced at Rivers' accusingly.

Lily stepped forward with a bright smile on her face, as she patted Rivers' head. "You shouldn't take them so seriously, okay? We wouldn't actually kick you out, since you know where we live, you'll be staying here _forever _and _ever!" _

"Ugh, would you stop _saying _that!?" that new guy shouted, as he started to walk away. Lily giggled.

"Who is that guy, Lily?" I asked, her with vast curiosity. I was mostly curious as to why Lily was so happy. She faintly blushed, as she stared at the tall man with the green eyes and the black hair. "His name is Shadows Hiding. He was the soul who was inside of Ian."

I raised one eyebrow, as I stared after the man. "Oh, really?" I whispered, just as I felt someone place a hand tightly on my head.

"No looking at other guys, Wanda!" I heard Ian joke around, as he tightened my head.

"Owie, Owie, Owie!" I shouted, as I jumped around, trying to pry his hand off my head. I managed to seize his hand off my head, but he instantly placed his elbow on my head. "Hey!"

"Hey, back at ya! Instead of looking at the 'hot guys,' isn't there something more important you should be doing concerning a certain daughter and a certain husband of yours?" Ian said to me, in an all-knowing voice.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah! I'll be in there in a bit, okay?" I said, as Ian finally let go of my head.

"Just don't take too long, sweetie," he whispered, as he lightly kissed me. He left me wanting more, but Ian was so mean! He ran away from him. Grr, I'll catch him…

Someone's loud sigh broke me out of my evil plans of capturing Ian. I turned around to face Lily's saddened expression. "Something wrong, Lily?"

"I wish I had someone I could be all lovey-dovey with! You're soo lucky, Wanda!" she said, with her shoulders slumped.

"I know I am," I whispered to myself. "But hey, isn't that guy you were staring at still available?"

Lily's face suddenly flushed tomato red, as she stuttered, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lily ran off, refusing for me to embarrass her further. Someone's bickering made me quickly turn around.

"God, do I seriously have to repair the whole _ceiling!?" _Silvers shouted, at the top of her lungs. I placed my hand on her shoulder, as I said, "Don't worry; Rivers will be with you! Just don't make out, when we turn our backs!" I said as I pointed an accusing finger at her.

Both of them flushed, as I ran away giggling.

I looked around the Resistance left and right. Sunny and Kyle's relationship seemed to bloom, as I was gone. They were talking quietly to each other, and something Kyle said had made Sunny smile hugely, as she threw her arms around him.

I passed the storage room to find Jeb, Mel, and Jared putting all the stuff in order again. When Jeb wasn't looking, Jared would give Mel a peck on the cheek.

_Aww, how cute! _I thought to myself, as I continued to skip in the hallway.

I passed the hospital wing to find Doc sleeping. Sharon was pacing a pillow under his head.

Everyone seemed to be having a lovey-dovey love life, now! Where was mine!? Oh yeah, it's in my room!!

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I opened the door to my room quietly. I smiled slightly at the sight before me. Ian was sleeping in our bed, and for once, he wasn't sprawled about. But he had his arms circled around little Amethyst. She was sleeping quietly, too. I guess I should join the crowd.

I layed myself down on the bed and closed my eyes. Ian's quiet voice woke me up, though. "Hey," he whispered.

I opened my eyes and smiled slightly. "Hey, you," I whispered.

"So, I have a question. You mind answering it?' he whispered.

I shook my head, "I don't mind."

"How were you able to stand it? Having Melanie in your mind, and then having Silvers? Doc filled me in on the story," he added, when he saw my confused look.

"How was I able to stand it?" I repeated, as I turned around to look at the window on the ceiling--the one with the stars. "I guess it was because we were so similar…it was like I was talking to myself…"

He chuckled. "Well, it wasn't like that for me at all. Shadows' detested me."

"Are you sure about that?" I said, as I propped myself on my elbow to face him. "If you ask him now, I'm absolutely positive that he'll reject such an idea."

"Hmmm…You know, Doc told me something else…" he said, unsure if he should continue.

"Go on," I encouraged.

He smiled infinitesimally. "He said that when he saw the two of you--when he was splitting you and Silvers apart---that your soul…was the color of a human heart..."

"Really…?" I whispered abstractedly, as I lie back down.

"I wonder if that happens to all souls…If they stay in their human hosts for a long time…, they would become their host. I wonder…" Ian trailed off. I anxiously turned to him, but I calmed down when I realized he had just fallen asleep.

I turned to face the little window again. I wonder, too. What becomes of the souls, once they've stayed too long? Do they completely change? No one has bothered to check, because this has probably never happened before. Or is it the other way around? Do resistant humans become more like the souls? The souls aren't alive…maybe they wish to be alive…

Maybe, all of us souls have secretly become our hosts. But we just don't like to show it.

"I wonder…" I whispered, as my eyes started to slowly close.

That last question…I will answer it some other day……

But for now...All I want is to sleep. And hope for the best...

Because even after the whole melodrama that had happened to me...; hope never failed me.

Hope kept me allive...

* * *

_**THE END**_

**A/N: Yippie!! I finished a story!! (Victory Dance!!) **

**Listening to: Wait for me by Theory of a Deadman. I listened to this song, while writing this! Hope you love it, too! **

**Let's see, this is gonna be my last author's note, right?? So, I guess I should write everything here. I was reading the Host one day, and when it got to the part where Wanda was talking about how she never went to the Fire Planet and that obnoxious kid in her class was all like, "But there has to be a reason why you skipped that planet, right!?" and when he said that, my mind began to run. I began thinking "What if Wanda **_**did **_**go to the Fire Planet, but she just didn't remember anything?? What if her memory was erased? What if she became two separate identities because a part of her was trapped in the horrible past (My brain actually refused to tell me that part. I knew something horrible had happened to her, but I couldn't think it up, until that part "actually" happened in my story)?" And then I grabbed a pencil and paper and I started to write. **

**This whole story was actually going to be much shorter, but I wanted to explain everything, so it took up much more space. I do hope everyone enjoyed it, though. **

**Until next time, people! Twi-Hoster Girl is out.

* * *

**

**Another A/N: Oh yeah, hang on! People, don't exit out yet! I'm thinking of writing a sequel. It's because there was never really a "bad guy" in this story. Or there was and I completely forgot about him/her. Either way, I wanted to write another story! But I'm not sure if I'll actually write it…I'm not going to give too much away, just in case people don't start COPYING me! But there's gonna be bad guys and more bad things are going to happen. Like, WAY bad. The kind of bad things when you go screaming at the computer/book shouting "WHY!? HOW COULD YOU WRITE THAT!?" but you still read because you want to see how it ends? Yeah, that kind of bad. It's 'cause I heard this song, and one of the lines was "And I'll give my soul to save your life!" And then I ran to the nearest notebook. Again, if you want me to write it, I shall!**

**One last thing. R & R, people. Yeah, this is the last chapter, but your thoughts are STILL valued! Whenever I have a bad day and when I check my e-mail and when I see one of your reviews, I get a big smile on my face and I forget about the other stuff. Really, guys. Thank you for everything. **

**Okay, NOW until next time, people! Twi-Hoster Girl is out. **

**=D**


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